The Blue Winged: The Messenger
by whimsical-pudding
Summary: Ron never thought he'd be back to sitting and listening to dull lessons, but he's willing to take whatever he'll get just to bring back the light in her eyes. She may not be like the Hermione he used to know, but he might grow to love her even more. The group travels and meet new friends, enemies and discover that their story, isn't coming to an end that easily. AU Multi-verse.
1. Prologue

_6/1_

_Hello again,_

_ Hermione here. The new school year had started today and just like always, I got beaten to death. Not like it didn't happened before, and I think of kind of used to the pain. I could barely feel anything at all._

_It's been about six months when I last wrote here. You see, I was running to Zione's place to get Stephanie when I saw Talia, in a dark alley. Her body was crumbling and I just knew that she broke her promise. I forgave her, for everything she had done for me. After all, she died to keep me safe... to keep _us_ safe. I could never be angry at her for… forever. Like she said before, Stephanie is more important than anything. So yes, I will protect her with all I can._

_ Let's just hope that everything can change this year. For the better._

_Hugs,_

_Hermione_


	2. Chapter 1: The Girl Next Door

_Ron's POV_

* * *

"Komui's got to be joking."

"No, I think he's being serious at this one, BaKanda. He's _actually_ serious."

Those were the first words that came out of Kanda's and Allen's mouth as we stared at the huge walls and the huge gate standing before us. We all stared, dumbstruck at the size of this… country? Is this a country or just a large piece of a city?

"So, he's implying that she's studying here? In _'Clarion Academy'_? Is he absolutely joking?" Lavi asked in amazement, touching the gates. I think they're actually made of gold, since there isn't a place here that doesn't scream _'rich'_. "You have to be shitting me. This isn't a _school_! This is _a goddamned country_! This is so... "

"Cool?"

"Great?"

"Actually, I think the word that I'm looking for is _'horrible'_. Terrifying, even."

"As much as we want to stay in awe, or in fright in Lavi's case, how much do you know Clarion Academy?" Lenalee asked curiously, watching from afar as Edward and Komui talked with the guards. "All I can tell from here that it's just too big. And too tall. And why did you say horrible?"

"Clarion is sort of like a country," Len answered with disdain. Oh, so it _is_ a country. "The people who live here are practically the richest of the rich in their homes. No one can enter without the budget of ten million grand," Len said as a matter-of-factly. He was glaring at the gates as if it did something wrong to him, it's like his puppy was kicked by it itself.

"Clarion Academy is the only school here, apart from some nurseries. It only has an elementary, a high school and a college. Some people are allowed to live and work here, along with some famous shops and companies, but only _some_. They won't allow anyone in here unless they work, or in our case study. I would _hate_ to study here," He grumbled, still glaring at the school. "Mum can afford this, yes, but I heard it's a snobby school. You have to be well-known, have any good connections. If you're family is in a machine business and you make twenty million grand in five days, you're in. If you're family just owns a family business, you're out."

"And she _lives_ here?" I exclaimed, looking at the gates. "At this kind of a school?"

"I think the question is: how? It's rumoured that they accept scholars and geniuses here, whether they're rich or not. It has to be the reason why she's here at all," Katherine said, her arms crossed. "But looking back from what Reever gained, she doesn't own a mansion. She lives off rents and works in the morning before school starts and in the afternoons. She works all-round."

"Well, our papers are cleared," Edward said roughly as he and Komui walked towards us, glaring at the guards, who actually returned the gesture. "Deana, come with us and we'll go to the principal. We have to sign in as their legal guardians. The others are to go inside and wear your school uniforms. You have no period for today, since you're just entering the school year."

"Wear _what_?" Fred demanded. "I've already flew out of the school, _literally_, because of some old hag that tucks in my shirt while she's on the other side of the bloody corridor! I will not wear those clown suits!"

"Well, we can't enter if there isn't someone in school. I mean hello? We are entering a strict academy, here," Komui ordered, pushing us all inside once the gates was opened. There were silver carts just waiting around. "And they're called _uniforms_, Fred. Now put your things there and you can get it back when we're home. So hurry up and wear your uniforms—they're with the guards by the way. We'll see you in the afternoon. Got it?"

* * *

_"Alright, I want your one week essays to be handed tomorrow, understood?" The teacher ordered as the bell chimed for lunchtime. As students filed out of the room, a girl with lanky brown hair stood up and fixed her worn-out bag, tucking in her far too big book and pulling out a clear folder. Once she deemed it sturdy enough, she walked to the teacher. The teacher looked amused as she handed her five-page essay to her._

_"Well, well, aren't you too early to pass this, Hermione?" The teacher asked slyly, stashing the essay inside her folder. "I told everyone that the deadline is tomorrow."_

_"It's better to pass it today, Ms. McKinnon. I have work until seven, pick up my sister from kindergarten, and I have to study for Mr. Kirkland's exam next week," Hermione said quietly as she slung her bag on her shoulder. "I am sorry if it is a bit too early. I do not wish to trouble you this evening."_

_"It's okay, I have nothing to do anyway. My husband's away for business, so nothing entertaining. Now go and have your lunch," The teacher said, gesturing outside. Hermione smiled gratefully and went out, only to be blocked by a horde of students. Used to this action, she shakes her head and goes the other way to the school gardens._

* * *

"Enlighten me, how are we going to find Hermione when every student is surrounding us?" I whispered harshly to Harry as we looked on. When we first stepped into the building, everything was _'A-Okay'_ until, the damned clock tower chimed in to say that it's noon and it's lunch time. By then we were crowded by curious students, and most of them were bloody girls. Then we were cornered by the students. "I don't think we can even _survive_ this."

"I think we can. Kanda looks ready to kill," Harry whispered back, looking at Kanda with amusement. Kanda was already shaking in annoyance, and one of his hands was holding the hilt of his katana. Alma was practically pulling him back, holding onto his arm. "He's ready to turn into a _demon—_"

"Now, now," Someone called out and all at once, the students backed away as a group of girls made their way to us. One of them, their leader I think, looked at me with her long honey blonde hair bouncing on her shoulders. She looked at me, up and down, before smiling.

My first thought: run, find Hermione and hide. Yeah, that's a good idea, find Hermione and just hide.

"Hello there, I'm Brooke Geraldine Hudson, the chairman of the student council," She greeted, a sickly-sweet smile etching on her plastic face. Oh, how much I want to slap that face… "I'm sorry if they shocked you. The dearies always crowd the new guys."

"No, its fine," I said quickly, raising my hands in surrender. That was on impulse, because I'm actually getting _scared_ right now, by the way she was literally swooning at me. "We were actually looking for someone here, but it seems we got lost," I lied. My head was already screaming _'go away'_. I didn't know if it was directed to me or her.

"Oh, shame," She sighed loftily, before she smiled, all white and sharp teeth exposed. "How about I tour you around?"

"There's no need for that," Lavi said politely, pulling me away before she can even touch me. "Thank you though."

We pushed past the group and once we were in the school gardens, I practically sighed in relief. This school was damn freaking huge. It's like, the half of Clarion.

"And we're only in the high school grounds," Fred mused, holding out a map towards us. "We're at the farthest right of the country, see? The college is by the left and the elementary, at the top. The town's in the middle and all the dorms and other houses are at the bottom."

"Darn, that's a long walk," Alma tsked, crossing her arms as a few guys took her picture from behind. Kanda instantly growled at them, making them back away, ever so slightly.

I thrust the map back to the twins' hands and my eyes caught a small, brown and lanky-haired girl walking towards an unoccupied bench, holding a paper bag tightly to her chest. That was, until the girl, Brooke, stepped in front of her and started to talk to her. With the way her mouth was moving, I doubted she was saying nice things to her. Then Brooke ripped her paper bag from her hands and looked inside. She laughed at her face, took something from inside and threw it at her face. Not only was that, but the fruit juice Brooke had been holding in her hand. The juice made contact with the girl's face. Brooke walked away, laughing along with her clones. The girl only took off her jacket and walked away hurriedly, her soiled lunch on the ground.

"Now that's just unacceptable!" Tevak gasped in anger, her eyes flicking towards the retreating girl and Brooke. She slowly stood, already moving towards the girl. "Why I ought to—"

"You _could_, but that might put you on her bad side," Someone said from behind. "An trust me, it ain't the fun kind of bad either," I raised my eyebrows as a boy with raven hair and gold eyes walked up to us, popping a gum from his mouth. "You must be the newbies I've heard of."

"Yeah, and you are?" Madarao asked suspiciously, one eyebrow raised in question at him.

"Stefan, Stefan Michaelis," He introduced himself, nodding his head towards us. "Newbies from?"

"Just somewhere in London," George intervened, smiling. Stefan nodded in understanding before explaining again.

"Anyways, like I said, you can't just help her all willy-nilly," He said, shrugging his shoulders and pointing at Brooke, who in return, was looking at us with a devilish smile. "Brooke's been tormenting her for almost seven years now. Anyone who tried to help her would be out of the school faster than a man dying. They'd either be out of the country or just get home-schooled, just to escape her. She wouldn't make you do anything like that to anyone who she just torments."

"What is she? The president?" I asked, spitting on the grass in disgust.

"She's the _daughter_ of the president of the academy, one of the richest men in the world. They run one of the most successful home, entertainment and business companies in the world," He said casually, pointing at the group. "She _basically_ runs the school from top to bottom. She _is_ the chairman of the student council."

"That's just wrong dude, on so many levels," George shuddered, wrapping his arms around himself. "So, who's the lucky girl she's been tormenting like shit?"

Stefan smiles wickedly. "I like how you curse, my friend. She's one of the best students the school has… wait, actually she _is_ the best student the school has. She's the only scholar who actually hasn't been shipped off by Brooke's tormenting, but I think I'll let you find out who she really is. I kept her my word."

"Now that's not very nice," Alma said indignantly, crossing her arms.

"I don't mind, though. I love surprises," Lenalee said excitedly, clapping her hands. She looked at Stefan hopefully. "Stefan, you don't mind if you tour us around here, do you? I'm still rather unused by this amount of looking."

"Sure, I don't really mind," Stefan said, a frown etching onto his face as the clock chimed again. "Darn, lunch's over. How about we start that tour? Now I have an excuse for being late."

"Why not? I'm not even that hungry right now," Allen shrugged. We followed Stefan and while he rattled on some facts about the school, but I just can't seem to get my mind away from the girl who ran away.

* * *

'It's just another day, Hermione,'_ Hermione thought to herself as she wiped the juice from her blouse. _'You're taking all this in for Stephanie's sake.'

_Once her blouse was less red, she hurriedly put on her jacket and slung her bag on her shoulder. The clock tower just chimed in and with a last look at the mirror of the girls' lavatory, she walked outside. As she turned left, her eyes caught a shade of orange. Blinking, she rubbed her eyes and looked, only to see it has disappeared. Shaking her head in confusion, she walked to her classroom._

'I thought I saw someone familiar,'_ she thought to herself, confused. She continued walking towards her classroom, mentally slapping herself in distraught. _'Oh Talia, why did you just leave me here? I'm practically going nuts…'

* * *

The afternoon was about just interesting as the others. Luckily for us, the teachers agreed that Stefan could tour us around. Follow him like a dog. We walked around the campus; we visited the gym, the library and the cafeteria. He also showed us the theater, were they do plays, activities involving the stage and morning announcements that happen three times a week. He also gave us some papers just before the school bell chimed again to say that it's dismissal time; he said that they were for extra-curricular activities—meaning that we have to sign up for a club to get extra credit. We said our goodbyes and we just waited in front of the school, expertly avoiding Brooke and her batch of clonies.

"About time," I grumbled impatiently, slinging my backpack onto my back as we saw Edward and Komui appear at the front. "What took you guys so long?"

"Hey, it's hard to find a big car," Komui defended himself, pointing to a white bus behind him. "Be lucky that we actually _found_ something that can fit all of us in. And if you want to know, Edward bought this."

Madarao whistled appreciatively. "Never thought you had the money, Edward."

"Shut up and get in the damned bus," Edward grumbled, stiffly walking back to the driver's seat. One by one, we entered the bus. I was the last one in, so I got to ride up front. There were about fifteen seats on either side, and five at the back. Once Edward started the engine and reeved away from the school, we all practically breathed a sigh of relief. "What? Is the school giving you a hard time already?"

"It's not what we expected, if you want to know," Kanda grumbled, doing again his signature _'Tch'_. "And it's not the school; it's the students that _reside _in it."

"Yeah, on our first day, we saw a girl get her lunch thrown at her by some fucking bitches," Tokusa mumbled, too absorbed at the passing buildings. Most of them looked about… a hundred feet, give or take. That's a very rich country for you. "What did you guys do?"

"We just helped finish some paperwork," Deana said happily and tiredly, leaning onto the window. "They've already cleaned the house, and it's just waiting for us."

* * *

"_What do you mean I can't go to work tonight?" Hermione asked curiously, walking inside the grocery store, holding her sister by the hand as the latter looked on in amazement. "Zione, what is going on in there?—oh, yes. I just came back from the kindergarten, she's with me now, we're gonna do some grocery shopping—what is Myde really doing there? I can hear him over the line—I-I see. I won't come then._

"_I'll be there early in the morning, I promise. Okay? I'll see you tomorrow! Thank you!" Hermione thanked on her phone, turning it off and stuffing it in her pocket. She looked down and smiled. "How about we buy ourselves some ice cream this time?"_

_The little girl nodded happily, smiling and they walked to the carts._

* * *

"They did _what_?"

"You heard me right, they tried to make a _move_ on my sister," Len stated, looking at Katherine, who in return glared at him. Emilie was looking slightly nervous at the glaring two, while Timothy looked kind of worn out. "And mind you, they were only twelve. _Twelve._ We don't even _have_ that kind of romantic stamina that you all have."

"It's not my fault," Katherine reasoned heavily, still glaring at her brother. She leaned onto Emilie and tiredly poked her tongue out. "Besides, I only have a single teenage boy for my heart."

That earned a successful silence.

Timothy only blushed deeply.

Nice one, my friend. You've finally become a man.

And just as Len tried to make a retort—keyword is _tried_—the bus stopped abruptly, right in front of a dimly lit building.

"Nice way to ruin the peaceful silence, Edward," Komui chastised, making Edward blush a deep red.

"S-Shut up," Edward only said, turning off the engine. "It's because we're at the house, and I don't want to hear anything about dating from my siblings. It's just… plain wrong."

"So this is where we're going to live, huh?" Tevak asked quietly as she got off the bus, followed by Lenalee and Alma. I followed them shortly, jumping off the bus and staring at the hous—no wait, _this_ is a bloody mansion. It was surrounded by trees and there was a small house next to it. _'Probably our neighbours,'_ I thought inwardly, looking at the well cared hedge separating our houses. The white paint on the walls was peeling at the corners, the roof might need a little fixing along with the pipes and the window panes seemed old enough, but all-in-all, it was still in good shape. It just needs a good renovation.

"It looks kind of scary though," Tokusa commented, giving the house a onceover. "Where's our luggage?"

"Probably inside," Deana said, looking at the rusting black gate in front of us. "I thought you said we have a nice house?" She asked, slightly glaring at her fiancé.

"I thought that everyone might want to have a little renovation day after their classes," Edward said in defense, giving her a small smile, but there was a bit of fear mixed in his tone. With a sigh, he walked over and opened the gates.

* * *

_Hermione was in the middle of cooking dinner while her sister played in the living room, when she heard something crashing down next door. She looked up from her stew and looked out the window. _'It must be the new neighbours,'_ She thought to herself, before she gasped in realization. _'We haven't greeted them yet!'

_"Steph, could you please come over here?" She called over, smiling as her sister practically bounded up to her, giggling and pointing at the direction of the house next door. "Yes, they sure a funny lot. Now, how about you help me make a small cake after I finish cooking our dinner?"_

* * *

"Well, at least they had given us groceries," Alma muttered disdainfully, looking up from the fridge. At entering the house, we were surprised that it was so clean. Although the paint was clearly chipping off and some of the floor boards were actually raised to the point that Kanda stubbed his toe with one of them and threw over a table at that rate, it was practically fine for living. We checked the rooms earlier on, and by drawing sticks, I got the one with the single bed. "Does anyone know how to cook?"

"I do—"

"Komui, get the hell away from the stove," Edward yelled imperiously from the living room. Lenalee immediately whipped her head from her place by the sink and glared at her brother; but it was Komui. His hands were already on the stove and once he turned the knob—

All hell broke loose.

"What the hell, Komui?!" Allen growled from his place on the ground. Kanda, Fred and George had thrown themselves on Komui before he managed to actually set fire to the place, but once they landed down, they buried Allen, who was crouching low by one of the cabinets.

"I thought I told you to step away from the goddamned—"Edward started shouting from the doorway until they heard someone knocking on the front door. "You guys keep him on that ground, but let Allen go first. Tevak, Ron, Link, you can go and cook something. I'll get the door.

Crash!

"What the hell, Komui?!"

"Goddammit, he's at it again!"

* * *

_Hermione was about to ring the doorbell outside when they heard a loud crash. They had made them some chocolate cake with red frosting, Stephanie's favourite. They also had some leftover stew in a bag as an added afterthought. After eating, they bundled up in jackets and scarves (Stephanie had a woolly hat on her head) before walking to the neighbour's house._

"I thought I told you to step away from the goddamned—"

_She instinctively opened the gate and they walked quickly to the door, knocking on the door._

"—something. I'll get the door."

_She held onto Stephanie's hand tightly and smiled lightly as the door opened, to reveal a frazzled man in his mid-twenties, with brown hair and blue eyes that reminded her of Stephanie's. He was holding a box in his hands as he greeted her._

_"I'm so sorry for all the noise we've been making…" He started to apologize to them until his eyes met hers._

_The box fell to the floor with a resounding crash._

* * *

Edward's POV

* * *

It's her.

_Oh my god, she's here._

"Are you alright?" She asked, looking worriedly at me. I noticed that there was a child next to her, hiding behind her legs. Behind me, I could hear indistinct voices calling out to me.

"Dear?" I heard Deana called from the living room. "Is everything alright?"

I continued to stare at her, my eyes going watery. Hermione—oh my god, it's really her—was wringing her hands meekly, until she presented me a box and a bag. The little girl slowly came out from behind her and tottered towards the fallen box, patting it once she had reached it.

"U-Um," She started, giving me a small smile. "You must be new around here? I'm Hermione Granger, and t-this is my sister, Stephanie. We just live next door."

"Hermione," I breathed out shakily, smiling before engulfing her in a hug. She made this adorable squeak of surprise as I did. I felt someone patting my jeans and I let go to see that her little sister—_my little sister_—was making grabby hands at me. I grinned and picked her up, hugging them both. "Oh my god, it _is_ you."

"Sis?" I heard someone call out weakly from behind me and I let go again, so that she could see Katherine and Len. One look from them, they took off, hugging her by the waist.

"Y-You're here!" Katherine cried softly into Hermione's jacket. Len just buried his head in hers, shaking slightly. "I can't believe we found you so soon!"

"I-I don't get—"Hermione started, already confused by the sudden events. "I-Is there something—"

"She called herself _'Talia'_," I explained quietly to her, cradling Stephanie in my arms as she giggled. Her eyes immediately widened in surprise, looking at Katherine and Len with sudden realization before looking back at me. "She told you about us, right sis?"

"Y-You're h-here," Was all she said before she hugged the twins back, slowly sinking on the floor. "I-I thought t-that y-you wouldn't—"

"—come? That's an understatement," Len grinned, his eyes still watery from crying before kissing Hermione on the cheek. "We've been waiting to find you for six whole months!"

"S-Six?"

Katherine nodded in agreement. "Six! We had problems with the—"

"But that doesn't matter now," I cut in before Katherine could say anything else. I kneeled in front of them and the twins gasped as they saw little Stephanie. "We're here now, and we'll look after you."

Hermione was crying silently as well, tears running down her cheeks. She jumped onto my arms and started to cry earnestly, her arms latching onto my neck. I kissed her forehead, gently rubbing her back as she shook.

* * *

_"Holy shit," Lavi breathed out, taking in the sight of the Granger siblings crowded on the front porch. He had a small relieved smile on his face, seeing Edward holding Hermione in his arms as she cried. "We actually found her."_

_"Without doing anything mind you," Deana smiled, tears slowly running on her rosy cheeks. "We found her."_

_Ron was leaning onto the wall, the closest one of them all to the siblings. He had this fond and relieved smile gracing his face as he looked on. _

_"Think she's just like Talia?" Harry asked quietly to him from behind as one by one, the Granger siblings stood up from the ground, all talking excitedly with each other. And only by that time, he noticed a smaller guest, her brown hair jumping as she giggled, her shining blue eyes taking in everyone. It only took one look from her that she immediately ran to him and held his leg, smiling at him. Ron was speechless for a moment before he picked her up, a smile gracing his features as he bounced the little girl around. _

_"And who might you be, sweetheart?" He asked the little girl, who in turn giggled. _

_"Her name's Stephanie," Edward said, entering the hall and closing the door. "She's our little sister."_

_Many mouths dropped open in surprise. _

_"So Mum did have another," Len said in awe, poking her cheek. Stephanie, bless her soul, pouted at him before slapping his forehead with her hand. "Ouch!"_

_Hermione lightly giggled at this, making Ron glance at her. She still had her brown hair long as always, but it was lifeless, and she looked a little bit thin, but her eyes were alive. She looked at him, and gave him a small, meek smile that made him grin back._

_"I'm Ron by the way," He lightly introduced himself once he gave Stephanie to Deana, who immediately started to coo at her, along with the others. "Ron Weasley."_

_"H-Hermione," She nervously offered a hand and shyly looked at him. "H-Hermione J-Jean Granger."_

_He took it and shook it once, giving her a smile that made her cheeks turn red. "It's about time I met you. For reals this time."_

* * *

**A/N: And I'm back! Here's the second installment of the BW Trilogy! And finally, I feel so alive after writing this. Maybe it's because there's only three days left before school starts. Yeah. Maybe.**

**Okay, this book is what I consider as maybe the most hardest thing to write at all. I've been thinking that it might actually reach 50 chapters this book alone, since every fandom I am with is practically in here. I'll give you guys some hints as we progress through the chapters, but I still hope that you guys will still like it. **

**Read and Review guys! Your reviews, anonymous they may be, are very much appreciated!**

**These characters belong to Katsura Hoshino, J. K. Rowling and Square Enix. OOCs' are forever mine!**


	3. Chapter 2: A Meeting of Reunion

_Ron's POV_

* * *

"This cake is delicious!" Tevak moaned delightfully as we ate in the living room. After eating dinner and—which was practically a feast; Tevak's cooking was _amazing_—we dug into Hermione's cake, all the while introducing ourselves along the way. Right now, she's happily conversing with Deana and Alma as the former was bouncing Stephanie on her lap; much to the little squirt's delight.

"This can even rival your cakes, Link," Allen grinned as he shoved another mouthful in his mouth.

"Apparently," Link only said, before sighing as Allen choked on his food. "For heaven's sake, Walker. Breathe. That slice won't run away from you."

"Do you want the last slice, Hermione?" Alma asked, offering her the plate. Many pairs of eyes followed the last slice of cake greedily.

"O-Oh no," Hermione slightly smiled, raising her hands. "I-I've had enough to eat, b-but t-thank you."

At this, Stephanie uncharacteristically harrumphed at her.

"She eats a little, doesn't she?" Katherine asked Stephanie with a serious expression. Stephanie, with all the seriousness she could muster, nodded.

"T-Traitor!" Hermione squawked at Stephanie, making her giggle. "I-I swear, I eat a-a lot!" She stuttered, her body shrinking at Edward's glare.

"Oh no, I'm not gonna let my sister die of—!" Edward started to get up, but Deana, with every grace, hit him on the head with her spoon.

"She is not going to die of starvation, now will you please calm down?" Deana asked, a glint in her eyes that told him _'shut up, or you get nothing tonight'_. He reluctantly sat back down, but he was pouting.

"Hey sis," Len asked from across the room. He was looking outside, glaring somewhat at the hedge that keeps us apart. "Do you think we can live in your house?"

"O-Of c-course!" She stuttered, and I smiled at the twinkle of her eyes when she said so. "But I h-have to clean the o-other rooms again, so—"

"How many rooms do you have?" Edward asked.

"J-Just enough for all six of us?" Hermione responded meekly. Edward just grinned and ruffled her hair a bit.

"As fun as it was ordering these goofballs around, I think I'm gonna stay with you guys in the house," Edward grinned, happily noting the smile that lit up Hermione's face and the cheer Stephanie released. "Of course, if my—"

"You and the twins will stay with Hermione and Steph," Deana agreed, kissing his head fondly. "I'll stay with Komui to keep the kids in line—"

"We are not kids!" We all shouted indignantly.

"—and besides," Deana continued, ignoring our protests. "The bride should _stay away_ from her groom, right?"

"But not _that_ far away?"

"Eh-hem," Komui interrupted, raising a stern eyebrow at the two. Len and Katherine gagged in disgust. "Sorry to interrupt your lovey-dovey moment, but there are children present here—"

"Unbelievable!" Lavi squawked indignantly.

"—and they also have a nine o'clock class tomorrow, so—"

"Speaking of which, you do study in Clarion, right?" I interrupted Komui, looking at Hermione with curious eyes. Hey, curiosity got the best of me and I've wanted to ask her that for a while now.

She nodded meekly, a blush on her cheeks.

I grinned.

"Hopefully, we're going to the same classes," Harry smiled, patting her head with a fond smile. "We still need a tour guide for Clarion. Think you can fit the part?"

Hermione blinked before flushing again—_goddammit, she looks so cute_—and nodding. "I-I'll help in a-anyway I can."

* * *

_"It's just perfect," Katherine whispered happily to Hermione as they stood inside the house. After saying their goodbyes to the occupants of the other house, they immediately took their luggage and headed next door. Hermione smiled slowly, rubbing Katherine's head as she gave them a tour of the house._

_"I o-only cleaned the house yesterday, b-but—"_

_"It's alright, sis. You don't need to worry," Len grinned, grabbing Hermione's hand and swinging it back and forth. Edward, who held Stephanie in his arms, grinned. "It's only a matter of time before Kat destroys it—"_

_Kick._

_"I believe the one who'll be destroying our room will be you, dear brother," Katherine grumbled, glaring at him. Hermione only chuckled weakly._

_"They're always like this," Edward offered, putting down Stephanie, who immediately grabbed the hands of the twins and pulled them away from the two. Edward only sighed as he heard the twins arguing, even if they were farther away. "Sorry about that—hey, what's with the face?" He asked worriedly once he saw Hermione had been shedding tears._

_Hermione only shook her head, before choking back a sob. Edward immediately hugged her, holding her close as Hermione finally cried on his chest. "Shh, everything's alright," Edward whispered into her hair as she continued to cry. "We're here now. You won't be alone."_

_"W-We thought w-we were," Hermione managed through gasps, holding tightly onto her brother's shirt. "I-I'm sorry f-for—"_

_"—crying? You don't have to apologize," Edward said firmly, holding her tighter. "It wasn't your fault for being alone, and crying because of it. We should be the ones apologizing for not realizing it sooner."_

_"B-But—"_

_"No buts," He held her face in his hands as he wiped away the tears from her eyes. "Now come on, we're going to sleep. Len! Kat!" He shouted out, making two blonde heads poke out from their room. "We're sleeping as a family tonight! Make the fort!"_

_Len and Katherine grinned, immediately going back to the room and shouting gleefully with Stephanie. Hermione only laughed, a small smile forming her lips._

* * *

I never knew that I could actually wake up this early.

It was only half-past five already and the lucky sods, wherever they may be, were all snoring peacefully. How the girls could even manage to stay asleep with their snoring? I don't know. With a yawn, I dazedly sat up from my bed and looked around blearily.

The room wasn't that big, but it wasn't small either. I had a bed that could fit two people, a closet with enough space for my clothes and a desk for everything else. My walls were painted blue and the floor was, in amazement, carpeted. And for the fun part, I had a window. And I'm on the highest floor, with the greatest view.

_Score._

As I stood up and stretched my arms, I walked towards the window to look around and saw, to my surprise, Hermione was stretching her arms outside of the house, already in what seems to look like, her—

"Holy shit," I mumbled to myself before scrambling for the closet and all the while, taking off my clothes.

A one and a half minute shower won't kill anyone, right?

* * *

I feel like a stalker.

With the grace of an _idiot_, I hid behind one of the trash bins as I followed Hermione through the town. Or the city. Whichever.

After I slid the left shoe on my foot and left the house, I already lost her. However, since I am practically a ninja, I ran towards the town and jumped on the highest building there and looked for her. Luckily, I spotted her by the stoplight and continued to follow her by then.

Yup, saying that is even freakier than I ever imagined.

Looking above the trash bin, she entered a small café called _'Rhythmic Moon'_. I quickly stood, fixed up my hair and with a deep breathe, walked towards the café. After looking through the glass windows—the café was still closed—I saw her talking to a silver-haired girl, all the while giving her too big and too heavy bag. I knocked on the glass door and they both turned towards me. I grinned and waved at her, noting the surprise on her face before she immediately opened the door.

"R-Ron!" She was definitely surprised. "W-What are you d-doing here?"

I grinned at her. "Well, I was out for a morning walk and thought of having breakfast elsewhere, since Komui can't cook a _thing_ to save his life. It was sheer luck that I spotted you when I walked by," I said to her, hoping that she'd believe my excuse _(also known as a lie)_. "I hope I didn't interrupt something, since the café's still closed—"

"N-No! N-Not at all!" Hermione rushed, opening the door wider and letting me in. I walked slowly inside and I've got to admit, the café had a peaceful aura about it.

"Nice place by the way," I said, looking around the café. They had everything here: coffee, pastries, dishes and… wow. They also have a bookshop? It's no wonder why she would work here. I turned to look at her, only to find the silver-haired girl scanning my face. "Um… nice to meet you?"

"And _you_ are…?" She asked, giving me a small glare. I instantly stood straight because she's… staring into my soul.

"Ron. Ron Weasley," I introduced myself, giving her a smile that didn't pretty much give any credit on how scared I am right now. "I'm Hermione's new neighbour."

"Huh," Was all she replied. It was after a few moments of continued staring—and quite possibly twiddling for me—before she asked me again, "What's your business here?"

Before I could answer, Hermione immediately intervened. "Z-Zione, please! H-he's a friend of my brother!"

Zione raised an eyebrow. "Which one? Magnus or—?"

"N-No, Zione," Hermione lowered her voice. "My _real_ brother."

Her eyes widened in surprise. "You're _what_?"

"T-They came here yesterday," She explained quickly, her eyes flitting from her face and the floor. "I-I didn't know that they were my new n-neighbours, and they were looking for me for months. They're l-living with me now."

_"T-They?"_ Was all that came out of Zione's mouth, and I answered before Hermione could.

"She has an elder brother and twin younger siblings," I offered, giving Hermione a small smile. "Talia told her about them when she visited Hermione."

Zione was speechless for a minute before hugging Hermione for the sake of it. "I'm so happy for you!" She said to Hermione happily before letting her go and looking at me. "I am sorry for the earlier treatment. Any friend of Talia and Hermione is a friend of mine. I'm Zione Allister, Hermione's adoptive cousin."

"Cousin?"

"I was adopted when I was eight," Hermione explained, a fond smile gracing her feautures. "I'll tell you later."

"You'd better. Edward's gonna be surprised when he learns about your other brothers," I snorted, giving her a grin that made her giggle. I placed my bag on one of the chairs and rubbed my hands together. "Is there anything I can do to help around? I'd be happy to lend a hand, Ms. Allister."

"Don't call her that unless you want a shoe imprint on your face!" Someone shouted from what seems to be underneath the counter. Zione immediately hissed before walking behind the counter and with an effortless pull, pulled out a man with flaming, spiky red hair. "Oh, hello there, _Ms. Allister_."

"I think it's _you_ who wants to have a shoe imprint on their face, Lea," Zione growled before literally tossing him away. "Get back to the kitchens and work, you oaf."

"Jeez, no need to get angry, Zione," Lea mumbled, standing up from the floor and brushing away the dirt from his clothes. He glanced at me and gave me a smirk before walking back inside the kitchen, shouting, "Lea's the name, flaming is my game!"

_"Yeah right!"_ A voice shouted from inside the kitchen. "The oven has more flames than you will ever have!" In a few seconds, a guy with a mullet—or is it a mohawk?—entered the shop, a grin on his place. "Good morning, my lovely Zione!" He said before engulfing Zione in what seems to be a bear hug. Zione, however, only growled before—

Ouch. That has got to hurt.

* * *

Myde, the mullet guy, was still trying to pounce on Zione for a huge bear hug for the second time.

And apparently, that hit on the jewels wasn't even gonna let him down.

He sneaked in every corner of the room; heck, he even talked to me with a smile before continuing his patrol. Sadly though, once Zione wasn't looking as she arranged some business books on a shelf, Myde pounced on her, only to have a clipboard get smacked on his face. His nose got all red with blood. Lea however, tried to escape Zione because he accidentally, burned her book by the use of whipped cream and chocolate. How he did that? I don't even know. But he got his end anyway. Once Zione found out that he burned her book, she took out a frying pan from under the counter and kept smacking him on the head. Surprisingly, he didn't pass out, but I was sure that his bruises were all hidden under all those spikes. Zione, for her cool, calm, quiet and protective personality, is truly a horrendous being. Hermione commented to me when she gave me my breakfast and hot chocolate that there isn't a day that those two get beaten by Zione. That's why they have a good amount of bandages and other antiseptics hidden under the kitchen sink.

Speaking of Hermione though…

While I waited until they opened up the shop—since Zione and Hermione combined wouldn't let me help—I watched as Hermione carefully stack some new books onto the rows of shelves. And what's the cutest and most innocent thing she did that morning? She tried to place a book onto a shelf that she couldn't even reach. Even when she stood on her toes, literally. I was about to stand and help her, until she gave an annoyed sigh, and went to the back room only to produce a circular blue wooden stool and stood up on it. In a matter of seconds, she was able to put the book on its place with an exhausted smile from jumping up and down earlier and on her tippy-toes.

I couldn't help but smile dopily.

Anyways, the customers started to barge in about seven thirty in the morning, so yeah. The place was entirely full. Now that the shop was open and in for business, Hermione became a waitress, just like she said last night. She went from one table to another, giving out menus and writing away the orders.

"Isn't she adorable?"

I jumped and turned my head to see Myde, his arms crossed as he looked at the people sitting on the chairs and cushions. I nodded slowly before returning to watch as Hermione gave a high-five to a child as she passed by, a tray of plates on her other hand. I felt my mouth go into a smile.

"So, Ron," Myde said tentatively, bending down so that he could see me more clearly. He had a sly grin on his face. "Are you harbouring a sweet crush on our little Hermione?"

I felt my face heat up like the sun. "N-No?"

"Aha! I knew it! I knew I could smell romance in the air!" Myde cheered quietly, jumping up and down before slapping me—hard, might I add—on the back. "I support the very idea of you courting our Hermione!"

A huge chime echoed from the clock by the door.

"Hermione! You need to get dressed! You're going to be late!" Zione called, her face emerged on the computer by the counter. Hermione nodded from the shelves and I watched her walk hurriedly inside the backroom. "Ron! Wear your tie and jacket!"

"Yes, Zione!" I said obediently, taking the jacket and tie and started to slip them on. I think it was actually a bad idea disobeying Zione, since I saw that she has a mean left hook when Lea and Myde tried to sneak out a plate of cherry pie. As I was tying my tie, a red band was tossed my way.

"Tie your hair with this, you'll look classy and cooler," Lea pointed out as he gave a tray of food to a customer. "You'll never know though, Hermione might be attracted to guys with ponytails."

I felt the heat rush up to my face, just as the backdoor opened to reveal Hermione. She wore a jacket with black cuffs and collar over her blouse, her black skirt swished on her thighs. Her white mid-knee socks were fitted on her legs, her black over-used school shoes already slipped on her feet. Her hair was disarrayed, the lanky locks swishing on her back. She was putting on her red tie as Zione took the duffel bag from her hands, giving back her bulky brown bag in return.

All-in-all, she was completely beautiful.

"Ron, close your mouth. You might catch some flies," Myde regarded playfully, pulling my chin up, shutting my mouth completely. "Plus, I think you don't want to see Hermione looking at you drooling, do you?"

I nodded numbly.

"So, our new little friend here does harbour a small crush on our Hermione, huh?" Lea smirks, crossing his arms in contempt.

"I-I do not!" I said defensively, and I could feel my face get hot.

"I do not what, Ron?" Hermione asked innocently from behind me. I turned my head in embarrassment, only to look as she fixed her worn-out bag and heaved it on her shoulder. "O-Oh, so it's a secret, considering from y-your faces," She smiled shyly, nodding. "I won't ask again."

"Saved by the bell you are," Lea whispered amusingly at me once Hermione moved away to get something from Zione. "You're so lucky to be in love with our timid Hermione."

I stuttered something incoherent, making him grin at me.

"So, shall I drive you guys to Clarion Academy?" Myde grinned, twirling a set of keys on his finger.

At this, I saw Lea visibly pale.

* * *

One advice: if Myde says that he'll drive you to wherever, say it down and straight. No remorse.

_No. _

"Alrighty! Here we are!" Myde announced, stopping the car at the curb and looking back at us, frowning slightly. "You guys okay? You look sick."

"N-Nah, we're good," I said shakily, opening the door and going outside of the car. For a cheery guy like him, I should have known that he was a madman on the road. I bet you my guts he turns a blind eye on speed limits. I held out a hand as I helped Hermione out of the car. She stumbled a little when her foot made contact with the ground. That makes the both of us.

"Okay then!" Myde cheered in the driver's seat. "I'll see you guys later!"

And he drove off, leaving me with a still slightly tipsy Hermione to hold on. As we walked towards the gates, students all around the front were either pointing at us, whispering at us, or smiling at us. I raised an eyebrow when we walked by a duo of girls, giggling at us.

"Are you sure he's not drugged?" I asked to distract her when she looked at the crowd of whisperers again. She whipped her head towards me in distraction. "He's too hyperactive. Did you run tests on him or put him in a rehabilitation centre?"

"Z-Zione might have made him do a test after an incident, but it n-never worked. Now, we only give him hot chocolate instead of caffeine," Hermione answered quietly, looking down and somehow tightening her hold onto my hand. With a shaky sigh, she slowly looked towards me. "M-Maybe y-you should let g-go… I-I do not want t-to cause you any t-trouble."

"No way," I said, alarmed at her statement. "Hell if I get in trouble. I get in trouble all the time!"

"B-But it's your first day," Hermione shakily said, just as a black limousine pulled up on the curb and stopping right in front of the gates. Hermione stopped walking and hid behind me. Since I know why she's doing this, I swiftly grabbed her shoulders and hurriedly went inside. I pushed her right behind a tree, holding her hand behind mine once the chauffer went out and walked to the back door of the limousine.

"R-Ron…?" Hermione whispered behind me. I saw the chauffer open the door with a deep bow.

"We are here, Miss Brooke," He said obediently, still bowing once Brooke stepped out of the limousine. She wasn't at all happy.

"If it weren't for the shortcuts you did, I would be late by now. Now, if you ever try to fix the engine without my permission, you are fired. Do you get it?" She ordered haughtily, the chauffer closing the door loudly.

Huh. Talk about being thankful. _'Let's see when your car dies down in the middle of the road,'_ I thought scathingly at her.

"Yes, Miss Brooke. Have a nice day," The chauffer said at last, though I could hear a little growling when he said those words. He shuffled to the front seat and went inside. As he drove off, Brooke's group of copycats started to push the other students away so that Brooke can walk through.

"Bloody hell," I mumbled quietly, only letting Hermione hear. Hermione peered shyly from my shoulder; maybe on her tippy-toes, since I'm about a head and a half taller than her. "She's a real—"

"Oh, there you are!" Brooke shouted happily, walking towards me. Hermione now was trying to let me let go of her hand. "I knew you'd be waiting for me!"

"Not exactly," I said to her truthfully, tightening my grip on Hermione's hand. Hopefully, I didn't hurt her that much. Or at all. "I wasn't waiting for you. I was looking for the others so we can have another tour around the school—"

"Then that's perfect!" Brooke said, clapping her hands together in delight. I felt the irritation whacking on my head. "I'll give you an early tour—"

"You don't understand, do you?" I asked loudly to her, cutting off her sentence. "I am waiting for the others. And by the way, we have our own tour guide."

"B-But—who's going to tour you?" She whined instead, crossing her arms. Hermione was now desperately trying to remove her hand from mine. I smirked at her before pulling Hermione in front of me, enjoying the look of Brooke's shocked face.

"She is. Her name's Hermione. Do you know her?" I asked loudly, causing an outbreak of chuckling and giggling from the other students. "Well, if you do, then I think we can make this—"

"Why are you escorting him, Granger?" Brooke asked venomously, advancing on Hermione. I quickly pulled her towards me when she aimed a slap at her. "Don't you have more things to do?! Go!"

"I-I'm sorry," Hermione apologized quietly, looking down. In the corner of my eye, I saw Lenalee and Alma advancing towards us, the others running behind them. I handed Hermione slowly to Alma, my eyes not leaving Brooke's.

"Oh, so you're going to slap her, huh?" Alma growled, pushing Hermione onto Lenalee's arms and also pushing me away. Brooke backed up as Alma stopped in front of her. "Brooke, was it? Yeah, right. Whatever. If you ever touch Hermione again, I'll slice you in half."

Brooke looked insulted. "Who _ever_ said that you can slice me in—"

Alma's bloody sword was pointed directly under her chin. Brooke screamed and jumped away, clutching her clones like a lifeline.

"I'm a master swordsman, sweetheart. If you ever think of hurting her, you know what will happen to you," Alma crooned sweetly, her sword still directed towards Brooke. "If you mess with her, then you're messing with us too."

"Y-You can't just point a sword at me. Do you know who I—"

"I believe we've met yesterday, Brooke," Tevak chirped happily, her hands behind her back as walked next to me and smiled sweetly at Brooke. I swore I saw her hide a knife in her sleeves. "When you were so mean towards Hermione, throwing food at her face... it's so shameful; for a high-status lady like yourself. You should behave better than that."

"She was in the way," One of Brooke's friends cut in, looking nervously at Alma's sword and at Brooke's reddening face. "She should've learned her place—"

"Liar," Tevak said towards her, her smile still playing on her face. I heard collective shocked gasps echo in the grounds. The girl looked angry and embarrassed at the same time. "You cut in front of her when she was walking away, took away her lunch and threw it at her face. You know, for high-class students like yourselves, I'd never known that you'd degrade yourself with such acts."

Brooke suddenly stood straight and glared at Tevak. "Who are you to tell me that?"

"Well. For starters, I'm Tevak Winslow, half-German, half-British. I'm starting as a senior here at Clarion and am part of the arts club. That's all you need to know, so we'll be leaving," Tevak sweetly—with poison honey, no doubt—to her before pulling me and Lenalee away from the group. "Feel free to check our records though!" She added, looking back at them with her smile.

"Bye-bye, bitch!" Alma called back to Brooke and there was another outbreak of giggling and a loud snort as we left and made our way across the grounds and entered the building.

"That was, by far, your most horrifying yet," Allen commented, laughing as he grinned at Tevak. Tevak however, sighed and leaned onto the closest vertical thing, the wall.

"I," She said in finality, punctuating her words with her finger. "Will _never_ do that again. Ever."

"So you were acting it?" Lavi asked incredulously.

"Well, it is not in my nature to be so mean," Tevak sighed wearily, slinging her backpack onto her back, courtesy of Madarao. "It was rather a trifle to talk to that low-headed beast."

"You're talking like Link," Tokusa mused, pointing at Link, who was pointedly looking away. Tevak stuttered, a pink blush reappearing on her cheeks. I rolled my eyes at the scene and glanced at Hermione, who was being fussed over by Alma and Lenalee.

"I'll kick her shit later in the afternoon, I promise," Alma grumbled to Hermione, looking seriously displeased. "That bitch won't know what hit her, I promise," Hermione shook her head quietly.

"Y-You shouldn't have done that," Hermione whispered quietly, not looking at anything or anyone but down. "I-I'm a—"

"—sweet and innocent girl, who we'd take care from now on," Allen continued, ruffling her hair. Hermione looked at him with a pained expression.

"But she'll hate you from now," Hermione tried to reason. I raised an eyebrow at her in amazement and confusion. "I-I really don't want t-to become a b-burden to all of y-you…"

"Actually, I'd prefer if you stop worrying about us and worry about yourself," I said to her, making her look at me. "Edward wouldn't want you to come home badly bruised and all, would he?" Hermione shook her head. "And besides, I'll hit Brooke with a huge heavy mallet if she ever tries to slap you, kick you, punch you, trick you—"

"—bad-mouth you, gang up on you—"

"—slash you, rip you—"

"Okay, I think she gets the general idea," Alma growled to Fred and George, causing Hermione to smile slightly. "Now, how about we go to our homeroom and get this done with?"

"O-Oh! Right!" Hermione said, shaking her head like a dog before looking at us. "D-Do you have your schedules?"

"Yeah," Lavi said, giving her a rectangular card. She took it earnestly.

"M-Most of your classes are in the morning," Hermione explains, looking at the card. "And your classes that are needed with hands-on or physical activities are in the afternoon. H-Have you brought your uniforms for later?"

"Yup, jogging pants and everything," Fred grinned, slinging an arm around George and Lavi, both of whom are also grinning mischievously. I don't know about this, but I think they have another cracked-up plan just waiting to be unleashed. "Anyways, know where our homeroom is?"

Hermione glanced at the card again and smiled nervously. "W-We have the same homeroom."

Oh.

Nice one, Edward.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, so here's the bummer thing about this.**

**College entrance exams are coming, and I can't really do this story this time. However, once those exams are finished, I'll be alive and well to hopefully put more chapters in this story. I know, I feel bad for myself too. I think I'm flunking history, which actually isn't very surprising. I'm very sorry that this was late (late by how many months? I lost count). And I think I finished the other one the other **

**And by the way, may I present to you the newest addition to this story: Kingdom Hearts. It's a game by the amazing Square Enix team and sadly, I only played Birth by Sleep. However, once I get the money, I'll buy the 1.5 and 2.5 Remix of this game and play until I die. **

**So.**

**I own OOCs. Characters used are from either Katsura Hoshino, Square Enix and J.K. Rowling.**


	4. Chapter 3: Of Classes and Weirdness

_Ron's POV_

* * *

Hermione led us to our homeroom, but her head was bowed low so that she wouldn't get any attention from other students, and I was ready to punch anyone who scowled at her as we walked by. Lenalee, Alma and Tevak were walking side by side with Hermione, trying to engage her in a conversation to make her drift off for having the students' attention on her. I walked with Harry, just right behind them, glaring at anyone who was looking at Hermione with a glare.

"Seems like she's been having a hard time here," Harry whispered to me when we passed by a classroom.

"And I think that we just made it worse once I came to school with her," I whispered back angrily, silently glaring at a girl who was giving Hermione a disgusted look. "And apparently, everyone is a prick towards her."

"How I would I like to run them through my blade," I heard Kanda mumble from the back, making me look at him with surprise. "Even she doesn't deserve to be treated like shit," He gave nonchalantly before glaring holes at students who kept looking.

"Edward's gonna be pissed by the time we go home," Lavi sighed, hands behind his head. "Once we tell him that Hermione's being their rag doll, he'll storm in here and blast the school with his explosives."

"If he does, then we want in," Fred and George said together, nodding seriously at the suggestion. "How about we start off at Little-Miss Chairman's house? That would be fun to burn—"

"W-We're h-here," I heard Hermione call from upfront, making my face grin as she looked at us uneasily. I noticed that her hand was clutching her bag tightly, her knuckles white. "S-Should I…?"

"Nah, we'll be fine," I smiled at her before she opened the door to reveal a classroom with about fifteen tables and chairs made for two inside. There were a few people who immediately smiled at Hermione before they started to greet her with gusto, much to her flushed and embarrassed smile when she entered with us.

Silence descended on the classroom when we entered, faces of amazement and confusion on their faces.

"Holy shit," A guy muttered from Stefan's left, looking surprised when we came in. "They _are_ going to be here with us."

"Hey, don't get worried about anything at all now," Stefan grinned from his perch on his seat, both his legs splayed out and resting on top of his table. He gave us a wink. "Welcome to Class 1-A: where the students are always on top."

"T-This is an _honours_ class?" Allen gaped, taking in the surroundings. I was surprised too and my mouth fell open in shock.

_'Bloody hell not again,'_ I groaned inwardly to myself as the thought of having to study harder came by.

"Got a problem with that?" Stefan asked lazily from his seat.

"Not at all!" Allen grinned, practically bouncing to a seat that was available. "This just means that I'm smart enough to be an honour student! Beat that, BaKanda!"

"Hermione, did you finish your homework?" A girl with short blonde hair ran to Hermione, her blue eyes pleading. All at once, the class looked at her with despair; Stefan even sat straighter from his seat, mouthing _'we have homework?'_ to the person next to him.

Hermione nodded slowly, looking at her with a small smile. "S-Should I teach a-again?"

The whole class screamed yes.

* * *

Naturally, I sat beside Hermione. The girl with blond curls, Lucy, just gave her seat up and sat with Alma, giggling all the way. I took Hermione's bag from her and I've got to admit, it was heavy. I told her that I'll carry her bag every day and all I received was a small blush on her face, and a giggling classroom.

Seriously.

"So, all you have to do is just substitute this with the product of the equation…" Apparently, Hermione was used to tutor her classmates. Not that she minded though; she's all shy and wide smiles as she teaches and doesn't stutter at all when she talks, but when she's asked a question, she stutters. Cutely, I might add. "And then you'll have the answer."

I quickly wrote the equation and the answer in my notebook. Hell, we're new to everything here and Komui put us into the honours class. I think it's about time we actually did our best and do every single thing.

And possibly topple that queen, also known as Brooke, off the ladder.

Besides, if Kanda and Allen are all-in-all confused with everything that Hermione's saying, that's saying a lot. And when I meant _'saying'_, I meant that Komui didn't do them any justice in putting them there at all.

"Thanks a lot, Hermione!" Lucy cheered, waving her math book proudly in her hands. Hermione gave her a weak smile before grabbing a box thingy and used it to clean the board. "Huh. Hopefully, Sir Arthur wouldn't notice—"

"—however, I did," A man greeted as he entered the room, making us start. He wore a long-sleeved polo, a red knitted vest, black trousers and newly shined shoes; plus, he has these thick eyebrows that made him look more humorous, despite his semi-tall stature. Hermione dropped the box in surprise before bowing her head in embarrassment. "Good morning, my dear," He greeted, giving Hermione a small, fond smile.

"G-Good morning, Sir Arthur," Hermione greeted shyly, giving him back the small smile. "I-I'm sorry for—"

"As long as you've been keeping them in check, then it's just fine with me," He grinned, placing his books on the desk and handing a piece of paper to her. "Here you go. No homework for the week."

Hermione's eyes widened and brightened with joy as she took it meekly.

"And as your homeroom teacher and your math teacher, you _all_ have homework," There were many groans after this. "Also, I've just been notified that all thirteen students are in my homeroom!" He exclaimed cheerfully, clapping his hands and ignoring the look Stefan gave him. "Another set to add to my crazy class!"

"Oi! We are _not_ crazy!" Stefan shouted, pouting at our homeroom teacher. The latter, however, gave him the stink-eye. Madarao sometimes does that whenever Tokusa annoys the hell out of him. It made us snort in amusement.

"_You_, Mr. Michaelis, are the _only_ crazy-ass student of mine who always gets into trouble, the others are used at your crazy antics, and thus, crazy enough to get used to _you_," Our homeroom teacher huffed, crossing his arms at him and pointing a pen menacingly at him. Whatever that triggered his fear; I don't know how he did it, but it was too much that we laughed. Stefan's face was too _priceless_. "Right," He started again, now smiling encouragingly at us. "Now, who wants to begin the introductions?"

We all looked pointedly at him.

He rolled his eyes. "Of course, how stupid am I to forget that I should be the first one to introduce?" He muttered sarcastically, shaking his head. "I am Arthur Kirk, and you may call me Sir Arthur."

"Like in those medieval stuff?" Lavi asked curiously. I've seen of a _Sir Arthur_ before from one of Talia's books, and from what I've saw, this isn't him.

"Glad to know you know a lot more that this dump here," Sir Arthur grinned, pointing at an offended Stefan. "Yes, it is something like that. And you are?"

"Lavi Yong," Lavi said automatically, smirking after actually using his fake surname; Komui gave some of us some fake names that he used for our records so we wouldn't be that suspicious. "I'm fresh from home-school along with the others."

"Home-schooled, huh? That's the first time I heard a whole group being home-schooled" Sir Arthur said curiously, an eyebrow rose at this specific fact. "Well, then you must be new to all these social things."

"Not where we came from, sir. From there, you can meet anyone from different places," Allen shrugged, smiling at Sir Arthur. "I'm Allen by the way, sir. Allen Walker."

"I have a feeling that you're hiding something, but my mind has been saying _'no'_ otherwise, possibly because of it trusting Stephan once. I regretted it ever since," Stephan growled at his homeroom teacher. "Anyways, two down, eleven to go. Who's next?" His finger hovered towards Alma and Tevak, and gave them a wide grin. "I see that the two young ladies who stood up against our Student Council Chairman are in my class! Excellent! Your names, my dears?"

"I'm Alma sir, Alma Karmante," Alma introduced herself with a smile. "You can call me Al, since I'm a bit of a tomboy."

"Tevak Winslow, sir," Tevak bowing her head in greeting. "I hope you will take care of me and my friends."

"The pleasure is mine, my dear," Sir Arthur replied, nodding back. "It's good to know that someone has the ground to talk back against a bitch like her."

There was a stunned silence before Stefan started to slowly clap his hands. "I knew you were my favourite teacher, Arthur," He grinned before he received a pen to the head. He yelped in pain and I got to admire the accuracy our sir has. That was clearly a headshot.

"Sir!" Lucy called for the attention of Sir Arthur. "One of them has a crush on Her—"

"L-Lucy!" Hermione whispered hastily, her face flushed in embarrassment and I slightly glared at Lucy for even bringing it on.

"Another one?" Sir Arthur asked curiously, looking around before his eyes stopped at Kanda. "It's not you, right?"

Kanda's eye twitched.

"No, and also his name is Kanda Yuu," Allen introduced Kanda, nodding lazily at him. "He looks like a girl, doesn't he?"

Kanda grabbed on his ear and pulled on it, grinning maliciously. "Oh look, beansprout is still a beansprout."

"Then, it isn't him. Moving on," Sir Arthur's gaze landed to me and, to my horror, gave me a huge grin. "You seem to be Hermione's right-hand man. Any leads?"

I shook my head. Well, I do have to stay quiet. Once everyone here says that I do have a crush on Hermione, they'll flay her alive. Especially Brooke; that woman knows no boundaries. Besides, I'm still getting used to being with a new Hermione. Hermione as Talia was kind of aggressive and, well, strong-hearted and she likes to say what comes out of her mind; Hermione now, is shy and timid and meek, and maybe after having being used to bullying from queen bitch, made her almost scared on what will happen if she says something from her thoughts. And as an unfortunate addition, she was taken and adopted.

That had to have some sort of trauma. And I think that the only one who is keeping her sane is Stephanie.

"No? Well, it might evolve in the incoming future," He shrugged, hands on his hips. "Your name? Hermione's soon-to-be boyfriend?"

"Ronald Weasley," I cut Hermione from stuttering out an exasperated and embarrassed explanation. "Most people call me—"

"Bilius," Fred and George immediately pointed out teasingly, making me twitch in annoyance.

"And those bastards," I continued, pointing at the sniggering two. "Those are my brothers, Felicia and Georgia."

_'Ha, suck on that, assholes,'_ I cheered inwardly to myself as everyone started to crack up.

* * *

Introductions came and came… and came. Two subjects after Math and all of us were bored with listening through every introduction we had to make. Science was A-Okay until it started to get boring. Then came History and… well, you get the idea. We weren't still fond of it at all.

We remained bored out of our minds until he came along.

And boy, you should have seen everyone's faces as our English professor practically skipped inside the room. He looked like he came out of an amusement park, since his arms was loaded with two burgers, a cup of cola and some literature books. From my schedule, he's Sir Alfred Jonathan Jones, but Hermione just said to call him Sir Alfred.

"Alright class!" Sir Alfred, our English teacher, screamed cheerfully at us, making Hermione and I cringe at his too cheerful persona. In fact, he reminded me of Myde. "I would like to know what my favourite Math teacher—"

"He has a crush on Sir Arthur, by the way," Hermione whispered to me, a small smile gracing her features and I just noticed that a pair of glasses were perched on top of her nose.

"—is wearing underneath his pants today!"

"Boxers!" Everyone happily screamed in unison.

"Since when do you wear glasses?" I asked her quietly, nodding to her face.

"O-Oh, I-I only wear it when I'm r-reading," She answered, her hands absentmindedly touching the rim of her glasses. "Z-Zione says it's t-to prevent my e-eyes to—"

"And what does he look like in my eyes?!" Sir Alfred asked in a shrill scream, interrupting Hermione's answer in the favour of jumping in her seat.

"A bloody angel!" Everyone, excluding the both of us, shouted back.

_'Wow,'_ I thought to myself as Hermione and I winced at the screams and cheers everyone is making. _'This might actually be the noisiest class I have ever been in.'_

_'No, you might think it's the noisy class you have ever been, but you have never encountered your other classes. And don't get me started on the afternoon classes,'_ My friend inside my mind argued happily.

_'Shut up.'_

_'You can't tell me to shut up. I am in your mind.'_

_'You're creepy. Get the bloody hell out of my head.'_

_'Make me.'_

I scowled to myself and just sighed as the lesson finally started.

* * *

"Where do you want to eat?" I asked Hermione once the bell signalled for lunch. Sir Alfred gave us homework before he practically ran outside when he saw Sir Arthur passing by the room.

"And don't you even go through our fingers again," Stefan warned her as he stood in front of our table. "You got attacked when you went to eat alone. Not gonna happen again. Am I right?"

Everyone in the room agreed and Hermione, with all the embarrassment she could muster, shrunk in her seat.

"All right everyone! Today, we're gonna eat at the theatre!" Lucy announced, and everyone cheered.

* * *

"So all of you, are in the drama club?" Lavi asked through a mouthful of noodles. All forty of us were in a circle as we ate on the stage of the theatre. I've got to admit, it was huge. It was even air-conditioned and only the drama club were allowed to use it to their will. I'm so happy to be here.

"Actually, the whole Class 1-A _is_ the whole drama club. And we're sometimes called the arts club, since everyone here is talented," Lucy answered for him as she passed on cups of juice. Who would've thought that this club had a whole fridge backstage, stocked on anything but meat and greens. "And it's the only club Brooke never even touches. Since she's the Chairman of the Student Council, she's allowed to interfere in any club, but us. I think it's because she doesn't want to waste her time with us, since the last time, Stefan practically declared war with her and threw water balloons to her face."

"Bitch deserved it," Stefan scowled as he shared his lunch with Allen and Fred. "I saw her slap Hermione when Hermione unintentionally hit her shoulder when she passed by."

"Oh, how I would pay to see that," Alma sighed dreamily as she stole a piece of meat from Kanda's lunch.

"The best part of it? Stefan used paint, and she practically looked like she came from a kid's playroom," Lucy added and all of us laughed; even Hermione managed a small chuckle. "Practically, one of the best days I've had in my life."

"Oh, and remember the time Stefan put something in her shampoo bottle?" Clark, Stefan's bestfriend and Lucy's cousin apparently, asked, snorting in laughter.

"What? What did he do?" George asked curiously, leaning in laughter with Tokusa.

"He changed it with dye, and in a whole week, Brooke's air was in a horrid colour of violet!" And all of us practically fell back in laughter. "She couldn't even change it back!"

"I've got to admit," I breathed out to Hermione, small chuckles still coming out of my mouth. Hermione was giggling at this point, her hand covering her mouth. "This could be a fun school year. Don't you think so, Harry?"

"Yeah mate," Harry grinned, handing Hermione a cup of juice. "And Hermione, you sure have great classmates and friends here."

Hermione nodded shyly in response, a small smile gracing her features. "T-Thank you."

* * *

We talked for minutes, all about the school and other controversies Lucy had heard, until the theatre doors opened and a guy, probably a year below us, ran inside in panic.

"Bro!" He called out, and I noticed the familiar raven hair and I figured—

"What do you want, Mike?" Stefan asked in alarm, his eyes widening as his brother ran up to the stage. "I thought I gave you your money for lunch—"

"Not that, you idiot—"Ah, it _is_ his brother. "—I was going to say that Principal Hudson is asking for everyone to gather in the theatre! And here you are eating—"

"Holy shit!" Stefan immediately stood and in a rush, we immediately cleaned up the stage, and basically threw all our shit backstage before taking our seats in the far back seconds before the students entered the theatre. Sir Arthur, a little disheveled, ran to us once he saw us and his face was in an immediate scowl.

"Bastard didn't give any warning to the teachers," He grumbled once he reached us and he turned his head to Stefan. "Who gave you the warning?"

"Mike did," Stefan answered and I was surprised that his face was so serious. "We were eating on the stage when he ran in."

"Your brother is a quick little bugger, I'll tell you that," Sir proceeded to stand next to us. "Everyone, since the principal asked for a meeting, all of today's afternoon classes are cancelled, but I want every member of the arts club to stay here afterwards. Understood?"

"Yes sir," We replied as a class.

* * *

"Good afternoon, students," Principal Hudson greeted as he stood on the stage, with a microphone in his hand. He looked rather, well, pudgy; but he sure was tall. And standing beside him was his pretty-ugly-prim princess, Brooke. "I know that it is rather untimed, but I have a list of very important announcements for this school year!

"And listen up, since I will only be announcing this once! For our seventy fifth anniversary of Clarion, we will begin, once again, the Miss Clarion Competition! This competition, however, is only for the seniors of this year and we will be holding auditions for this said competition in two weeks, so ladies; you have all the time to prepare!

"On Monday, I know that you all know this, but we will immediately start our sports fest! The list of games will be given by your clubroom teacher and this list, along with the players in it, must be passed this afternoon before the day ends! No list is an immediate disqualification!

"Also, this Saturday, we will be holding the Midnight Dance, sponsored by our very own Student Council!" Somehow, the chatter seemed to go louder, but with a wave of his hand, it died down as quick as it started. "I know, it may be a bit too early, but I can assure, the Student Council has never planned anything as extravagant as this! For this year, our theme is 'Tales of Fantasy'! So, I expect everyone to be in their gowns and prince-ly clothes!"

"Does he even have to shout even with a microphone in his hand?" I muttered to myself as half of us winced. Being next to the speaker is not a good place to be in.

"And lastly as a treat for Clarion's seventy fifth anniversary, starting immediately after the sports fest, the school will allow the students to not wear their uniforms for the entire year!" We all sighed in relief, and I heard Fred and George silently cheering for this. "Yes, yes. Everyone's is excited! Well, that's all I have to announce today and I hope you enjoy a fun-filled afternoon with your clubs!"

* * *

"What's a sports fest?" Allen immediately asked once we sat on the stage again after everyone filed out. We remained in our seats for a while, and by the way, did you know that Brooke—the ever bloody bitch—tried to give me a come on. I have to thank her father when I see him, since he actually pushed her out of the theatre, much to everyone's amusement and delight.

"The annual sports fest," Stefan grumbled, crossing his arms in distaste. "It's a bloody biased competition between the clubs. And who do you think wins it every time?"

"Wanna topple the queen off her throne?" Fred asked, nudging Stefan with a crazy, manic gleam in his eyes.

"Why, I'd never thought you'd ask," Stefan grinned, giving the twins and Lavi a special manic gleam of his own.

"Shut it, the four of you," Sir Arthur ordered, slapping Stefan on the head with a clipboard. "As much as I would like to join you in this case, I would like to remind you that we have a chance in winning this sports fest."

"Yeah, since we have new blood here," Clark smiled, giving Madarao and Tokusa a grin. "Any of you know how to play basketball?"

"We only need about seven or more for that. They aren't that picky with numbers when it comes to specific group games," Sir Arthur hummed, carefully sitting next to Hermione, all the while rubbing her head fondly. "But we still need a representative for the swimming, the archery, the boxing and the wrestling match, the marathon, chess, and kendo, two for the bread-eating contest, tennis, target shooting and the chariot race, and lastly, five for the relay. Oh, and nine or more for baseball."

"W-We can play in two categories, right?" Tevak asked weakly as Sir Arthur handed her the list. She already had a pen in her hand. Sir Arthur nodded, saying, "Only in two categories. More than that, we could get disqualified."

"I think I'll enter the baseball and the boxing," Alma mumbled, taking a look on the list. All of us gaped at her when she said she'll enter the boxing competition. "What?"

"Are you sure you want to enter the boxing?"

"Why not? It's a first time for me and I think I'll enjoy smashing their faces," Alma shrugged offhandedly, snatching the pen from Tevak and writing her name down. "Who wants to enter archery?"

"Tevak will. Duh," Madarao huffed, giving Alma an unamused look. "She can shoot anything moving and while she's moving, I think she'll win that one."

"See? I told you we got ourselves a group of fighters," Stefan grinned at Clark, who frowned at him. "Clark and I are gonna enter the basketball and the chariot one."

"Damn, I wanted to enter that one," Tokusa grumbled, but continued on. "I'm gonna enter the target shooting one. Madarao wants to enter the marathon anyway."

"You're gonna need a partner for that," Sir Arthur reminded him, and to our amazement, Lucy raised her hand.

"I'm gonna be his partner!" She announced with a childish smile on her face. I could actually see the red flush adorning Tokusa's cheeks and Madarao and Link—_this is _the_ Howard Link _we're talking about—chuckled and nudged him relentlessly.

"I'll enter the bread-eating contest," Allen decided, his fist balled up in enthusiasm. Somehow, I figured that he would enter the competition.

"The bread will be hanging from a string."

"So what? You get to eat once you grab it with your mouth, right?"

Of course.

"Alright, moving on," Alma muttered, amused at the scene Allen was putting on when Kanda commented that he couldn't even grab it with his mouth because he was too short. "Yuu, you don't mind entering the kendo competition?"

"Hell, he wouldn't let a guy get in his way from winning that," Lavi snorted, giving Kanda an amused smile. "Now that is a game I'm willing to pay to watch."

"What about you Lavi?" Francine, a girl with red curls tied into a bun, asked curiously. "What are you going to enter?"

"Baseball," Lavi answered with a devilish grin, practically making her swoon. Ugh. "I thought of entering chess, but I'm sure as hell that Link will enter that."

"Right-o," Alma muttered, writing down the names. "How about you Jason? Charles?"

"I think I'm gonna enter wrestling," Both of them started. I smirked as the two of them glared at each other before—

"First one to tap out loses, got it?"

_"You're on, asshole._

—and then they get crawling on the floor.

"Oi, wrestle somewhere else," Lance hissed as he got hit by a stray limb. "Gimme the one with the swimming thing. I can do it."

"Wait, hold on. There has to be two participants for swimming. Bitch must've forgotten to add a line," Alma cursed, frowning at the paper. And when she said _'Bitch'_, she meant Brooke. "Who wants in?"

"Hermione," I quickly said, ignoring the shocked look she gave me. "Hermione's good in swimming."

_'You know I care for you, Mione, but this is a chance to show them that you aren't just as weak as everyone thought you'd be,'_ I thought inwardly, ignoring the guilt that was crawling up my spine once I saw her pleading eyes.

"I knew it," Stefan breathed, looking positively ecstatic. Hermione gulped in fear.

Sorry about that, Hermione.

I did not mean to release you to the dogs.

* * *

**A/N: I totally forgot to post this chapter. ****I actually forgot.**

**I am such an idiot.**

**Characters belong to Katsura Hoshino and Square Enix. OOCs are notoriously mine.**


	5. Chapter 4: Colourful Dinner

_Ron's POV_

* * *

"You're going back to work?" I asked Hermione, aghast as we went outside the gates. Sir Arthur gave us a last piece that they—the school board—gave us another day to train, so we have no classes tomorrow and that he already had a place in mind to train. We have to meet him by seven in the morning tomorrow by Rhythmic Moon and have breakfast there before going. Hermione didn't seem to mind it though.

"I-It's not actually g-going back to w-work," Hermione offered, looking embarrassed. "R-Rhythmic Moon closes in ten minutes, s-so I'm heading to t-the restaurant—"

"Enlighten us. How many jobs do you take in a day?" Harry asked seriously. "Actually, how many jobs do you take in a week?"

"U-Um… I take t-two every day and t-three on the weekends?"

"Uh-huh, thought so," Lavi tutted, shaking his head. "She's gonna overwork herself one day to death, I just know it."

"We're going back to change and we'll be having a grand family dinner at that restaurant," Fred huffed, pulling out his phone and texting. "You don't mind, do you?" He asked hesitantly at Hermione, who shook her head meekly.

"I-I'll p-prepare a table for you there," Hermione promised softly.

"We'll see you later, alright?" I asked, smiling and giving her a one-armed squeeze. "By the way, is the place for all the dandy rich people or just the plain ol' diner?"

Hermione giggled slightly before handing me a flyer she took from her bag.

"_'Twilight Pizza'_?" George mused, his eyes lighting up.

* * *

"Does this look good?" I asked Harry once I stepped out of my room. Hermione did say that we should wear something classy, but also casual as well. So, I picked out a pair of jeans, a white polo and a black vest.

He looked up and down and chuckled. "Are you sure you aren't going on a date, mate?"

"What do you mean?" I gaped at him, and—goddammit, Ron, a man should not blush! "S-She said to wear something—"

"I know, I know," Harry laughed, brushing off the dirt on his pants. Some kind of best friend! "Mate, you're blushing."

Goddamn everything to hell.

* * *

_"Hi Hermione!" A girl with red-hair and blue eyes greeted, her ponytail bouncing as she hugged Hermione with enthusiasm once Hermione entered the kitchens. "How are you?"_

_"I-I'm fine, Ms. Kairi," Hermione greeted back, shyly returning the hug. "I-I'm sorry for not coming in yesterday—"_

_"Not at all! In fact, it was better if you hadn't," Kairi hummed, tugging Hermione's bag off of her. "Oof, this is heavy! Anyhow, some shit came down when Lea and Myde messed up on one of Zione's textbooks and… well, you know the rest."_

_"About time you came!" Lea crowed loudly as he strutted in, his hair tied in a ponytail with Myde and a man with messy blond hair not far behind him. "I thought you were going to leave little 'ol me behind!"_

_"The world doesn't always revolve around you, you dickhead," The smaller blonde guy hissed, slapping Lea on the shoulder before turning towards Hermione. "How's your day, Hermione?"_

_"W-Well," She muttered, looking away shyly and scratching the back of her neck. "I—um…"_

_"Come on, Roxas. Give her a little space," Lea teased, and instantly got another slap from the blonde. "Ow! This is abuse! Abuse, I tell you!"_

_"Says the guy who—"_

_"Oi, you two. I don't want Hermione hearing about your sexual escapades," A woman with long, blue hair tied in a bun and golden eyes entered, glaring at the two as she wrote on her clipboard. "And how are we Hermione? Zione told me that you found your family?"_

_Myde snorted, giving Hermione a one-armed hug. "Correction, Miss Isa; _they_ found _her_."_

_"She has an elder brother, and a pair of blonde twins," Lea snickered, sitting on top of the counter of the stove. "Looks like Levi and Magnus is going to have a sibling rivalry about this. Ron told me that her older brother has a protective streak."_

_"_'Ron?'_" Kairi asked curiously, her eyes going back and forth between Hermione and Lea. "Who's Ron?"_

_Myde and Lea waggled their eyebrows at Hermione and Hermione blushed, looking away. "H-He's—um—"_

_"You two!" Zione entered in a huff and smacked them both on the head with a pan. "What have I said about eating from the desserts table? And will you leave Hermione be and get changed?"_

_Along with the glare of Isa, they quickly scrambled to the back rooms, apologies quickly muttered. Zione, nodding at their quick escape, smiled at Hermione before shouting out orders to the others._

_"U-Um, Miss Isa?" _

_"Yes, Hermione?"_

_"Uh—is the—um—big room reserved?"_

_She looked down on her clip board before meeting Hermione's curious gaze. "Are we going to meet your family?"_

_"T-They wanted to know w-where I work," Hermione explained quietly, an unsure look on her face. "T-they insisted..."_

_"No one's going to use it tonight, so I'll reserve it for you," Isa nodded, writing it down on her clipboard. "Oh, and Hermione?"_

_"Y-Yes?"_

_"Your brother is coming back from his seven-year mission this Friday. You're welcomed to stop by Kingdom Inc. to see him," Isa said, and she cherished the happiness Hermione showed on her face. _'It's hard to make her smile nowadays,'_ Isa thought to herself just as Hermione walked away in excitement._

* * *

"Are you serious?"

That was the first thing that came out of Alma's mouth as we went down the stairs.

"What? Isn't this decent enough for a night out?" Lavi squawked, gesturing this clothes. Practically every boy in the house was wearing the same clothes like I am; Komui wore something like those Chinese dresses men wore.

The girls however, were wearing dresses. And I've got to admit, they looked great. Tevak was the only one who was wearing a dress; Lenalee and Alma wore a showy tee and shorts that show too much skin for my comfort, but at least it wasn't that short. But that doesn't mean that any man couldn't just stop and stare.

_'Heh. Looks like someone's boyfriend and courtier are going to have a hard time in keeping away the dogs,'_ the voice in my mind laughed and I couldn't help but agree.

"Alma, they look fine," Lenalee sighed as she helped Katherine tie her hair up. "Goodness Katherine, your hair is almost by your waist!"

"I'm going to cut it off, I swear," Katherine hissed, slapping away Len's hand that was outstretched to pull her hair. "Goddammit Len, if you try to pull my hair again, then by my tomb, I will—"

"Alright, alright, I won't! Sheesh, who spit in your meal today?" Len huffed, leaning against the wall with Emilie. "She's been like this the whole day?"

Emilie nodded seriously. "You should've seen her this morning. When you and Tim left to buy us lunch, some random bloke came by and asked her to be his date for a gala. And mind you, he was only ten."

"Yeah?" I couldn't help but be amused by this. "And what did Katherine say to the bloke?"

"What every girl should say: _piss off_," Tim grinned and we all snickered. "Katherine now owns the reputation of being the newest bad-ass in school."

"Well, that goes without saying. If Katherine is already eighteen, she would've drank all of you under the table," Edward snorted as he came in, shirt tucked in his pants and Stephanie on his shoulders, playing with his hair. Deana was right behind him, tucking something inside her purse. "Consider it a compliment, Kat?"

Katherine, albeit glaring at her brother, her best friend and her quite-possibly boyfriend, grinned. "Approved, my dear brother."

"Done!" Lenalee said, smiling at her handiwork. Katherine hopped off the chair and looked at the mirror. "So," Lenalee clapped her hands together, rubbing them enthusiastically. "When do we go?"

* * *

_"Ooh, your family's coming over?" Lea and Myde were shifting in happiness in their seats, delighted to know that small piece of information from Isa. "We're finally going to meet your older brother! And your twin siblings!"_

_"Quiet down, you morons!" Zione hissed as she continued tying Hermione's hair into a bun. It was a right piece of work, with Hermione's lanky hair. "You two are supposed to get yourselves cleaned up—"_

_"We are!"_

_"Your faces say otherwise," Zione pointed out the strawberry jam that was evident on both of their cheeks. Hermione smiled, covering her mouth with her hand. "Come on, Hermione. The doors are going to open soon and I will tolerate these two if they keep being insistent on meeting—"_

_"B-But, I would like to introduce a-all of you," Hermione said, quickly putting on a vest and helping Myde wipe off the jam. "T-They would like that, to k-know the people w-who rescued me when I was little."_

_Zione stopped in her tracks before turning back to look at her, her arms crossed and a fond smile on her face._

_"Well, we can't have a sad Hermione, can't we?" She teased, making Hermione roll her eyes before continuing to wipe the jam, this time on Lea's face. "Continue doing that, and you'll spoil them."_

_"But aren't they already?"_

_There was a moment of silence before they burst out laughing._

* * *

"See? It isn't that fancy, but it's not that shabby either," Komui mused, staring at the restaurant. It was family-friendly, and somehow, I couldn't tell why Hermione would work here; the shy and quiet demeanour was putting it off. "It looks like it's always packed here."

"Well, Hermione did say that she's made us a reservation," Deana smiled as we walked to the doors of the restaurant. Somehow, a familiar red-head was waiting for us. And no, I did not like the sly smile he keeps giving me. "Good evening," She greeted Lea with a tentative smile. "Um, we have a reservation...?"

"Good evening madame, and welcome to Twilight Pizza! You must be the Grangers' I presume. Hermione's itching to see you all here," Lea grinned, winking at me. "Your table is right this way. Please just follow your waiter for this evening and I do hope that you will enjoy tonight's meals."

That was when Hermione came over, a little breathless, but there was a wide smile on her face that somehow made the room a little brighter than before. She was in another uniform, this time black and red rather than her green and white attire earlier this morning. Her hair was tied in a neat little bun. She had a bunch of menus in her hands as she smiled. "Y-You came!"

Edward snorted, patting her head gently. "Like I'll miss to see you work," He grinned, giving her a kiss on the head. Stephanie, who was in the arms of Deana, was waving happily at the waiters present. The waiters who saw this immediately grinned and waved back.

"H-Here, let me lead you to t-the big room," Hermione offered and we followed her. I could see Zione talking to a blue-haired lady by the drinks bar and Myde serving pizzas to a family of six.

"This place looks amazing, Hermione," Emilie whispered, giving Hermione a small smile. Somehow, that didn't sound right since… well, they are younger than us. Hermione had the same idea apparently; she smiled back and nodded.

"Both of you could call me 'sis', if you would like," Hermione offered to Tim and Emilie, and both nodded in agreement. I couldn't help but notice that whenever she talks to people younger than her, she doesn't stutter.

_'Gonna ask her later for that,' _I agreed to myself as I sat down next to Harry and Fred.

"Good to see you, by the way," Deana said, kissing Hermione by the cheek. "Hopefully, after this, we can all go back home and watch movies—"

"Deana? They have class tomorrow," Edward reminded him, his eyes going through every word on the menu Hermione gave him. "These look really good. Do they taste such as good?"

Hermione nodded, handing Stephanie a colouring pad and a box of crayons.

"Somehow, I would really like to have one of those," Harry mused beside me, a small, fond grin on his face. "I never did get to know how colour inside the lines."

"Hey sis, do you think we could get crayons and colouring pads as well?" Katherine and Len asked together, their eyes shining in hope. Almost all of us nodded in assent.

"I-I'll get them right away," Hermione smiled, bowing slightly and leaving the room. In a few moments, she came back in, in her hands colouring books while the lady Zione was talking with earlier was behind her, two boxes of crayons in her hands. "H-Here you go," She smiled, handing us each a pad.

"You must be Hermione's brother," The lady offered, passing Edward a smile. "Good evening, I'm Isa Allister, the owner of Rhythmic Moon and the Pizza Palace. I am also one of Hermione's guardians. It is great to know that Hermione found you."

Edward smiled and stood, shaking her outstretched hand. "Technically, we found her. But it's great to know that she isn't quite alone."

"It took you a while, did it not?" Isa asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We only knew that we have a sister last winter and we've been looking for her ever since," Edward chuckled, giving Hermione a wink. "We just moved in yesterday night."

"Ah, so you're staying with her for the remaining year?"

"Definitely. I wouldn't like to miss everything she'll be doing," Edward affirmed. "After just knowing that she was here, we had to make up those fifteen years we didn't spend with her."

"That's good to hear. So, how about we start your evening off with your orders?" She asked, pulling out a notepad and a pen. "Everything we serve is fresh from the farms and our ice cream and our milkshakes are the best in Clarion."

"It really looks jam-packed here, so you must really have an excellent menu," Deana commented, looking at Isa with a smile. "Is it hard to get a reservation here?"

Isa smiled and nodded. "Hermione is very lucky to reserve the big room tonight; several reservations were made after her, but our rule is first come, first served. This room, however, is only used for…"

I drowned out their grown-up conversation and looked at Hermione. "What do you suggest we eat?" I asked her, making her look at the menu from my shoulder. I could smell lavender from her. "Everything looks good."

"Well, if I-I were to order," Ah, her stuttering really wasn't reserved for the kids. "I would order t-the Moogle Special; it's a salad of starfruit and freshly picked greens. H-However, if you're u-up for an early d-dessert, I w-would suggest the Flamng V-Volcano."

"What's that?"

"Um, it's actually Lea's special dessert," Hermione whispered to me—holy shit, our faces are so close. "W-Would you l-like to try it? I guarantee the flavour."

"Please tell me it isn't spicy."

Hermione smiled. "It's a chocolate lava c-cake with strawberry lava. V-Vanilla ice cream on top is s-surely recommended, b-but it tastes just as g-good without it."

"That sounds really good," Harry chimed in from beside me, making me glare at him a little. "Anything else, Hermione?"

"We have our best seller, Honey Dew," Hermione replied, her eyebrows crinkled together in thought. "It's a set of cupcakes with honey dew filling. Also, we have a kiddie favourite, our very own creation, sea-salt ice cream."

"The sea-salt what?" Harry and I asked together in shock.

"I-It's actually quite good?" Hermione tried again, a small smile on her face. "We also have a milkshake of the same kind."

"You know what?" Edward asked from the other side of our table, a large grin on his face. "We'll have one of everything. Or do we double it?"

The pure amazement and shock of both Hermione and Isa was actually a sight to see.

* * *

_"Wait, what did they order?" Myde asked, confused when Isa gave him the menu while he was giving the order of a table. "And why are you—oh."_

_"Let's just say that Hermione's new family is highly entertaining," Isa mused, patting said girl's back fondly. "I approve. It looks like she's in for a very interesting year."_

_"Agreed," Myde grinned before handing the menu to Braig, the head chef of the kitchen. "Here you go dude."_

_"What the—aren't the orders supposed to be in paper?" Braig asked gruffly, his hat tilting sideways. Myde gave him a look and his jaw dropped. "Holy shit."_

_"Shh! Language!"_

* * *

We coloured and talked all the while, waiting for our orders. Stephanie and the kids were having fun colouring on their pads. Fred, George, Lavi and, for the sake of it, Allen, drew on their faces. Edward and Komui kept bickering on how what their job will be, just to keep this incognito. Deana and Alma were having a conversation about Deana going to work as a model here. Lenalee and Tevak were colouring with the kids, smiling and having a conversation on desserts. And the rest of us?

Well, we just kept colouring up until Hermione showed up again.

And this time, she was carrying two trays of drinks. I sat there, bemused. 'How the hell could she carry all of those with two hands?' I asked to myself as she started to put the trays down on the table.

"How the hell could you even balance that?" Edward asked, poking Hermione on the arm. "You're all…"

"Be careful of the words you're about to say, dear," Deana pointed out, smiling devilishly at him. "One wrong word, and I'll just—"

"Y-Your orders will come in any second," Hermione quickly intercepted, and maybe it was because Edward paled in a second once Deana threatened him. I couldn't help but smile; Hermione really doesn't like violence that much, huh?

"What time will your shift end?" Fred asked curiously as she passed him a drink. "So, you know, we'll wait up for you?"

"O-Oh! You needn't do that!" Hermione exclaimed in horror. "Y-You have homework to do—!"

Ah, there it was. I knew that somehow, deep inside that shy and nervous exterior, was that homework conscious vibe of hers.

"And then suddenly, your shift ends in three minutes," Lea concluded as he and Myde and Zione entered, all three carrying trays on their hands. "Isa gave you this night for free, since it's practically your first dinner with your real family. And I think with the amount of time you read a book, I'd say that they'll just copy your answers in the morning."

Hermione actually took the liberty to flush.

* * *

Hermione came back only wearing her jeans and her white blouse from her earlier job at the café. She sat beside Edward and Stephanie, so that she could feed her without making a mess. Stephanie was a messy eater; spaghetti sauce was all over her face and currently, she's picking on her broccoli and glaring at it like it kicked her puppy.

That poor broccoli.

"Remind me to take-out all the left-overs," Deana reminded Edward with a smile before it dropped once Allen practically took on a pizza all on his own. "That is, if we have left overs."

"Steph, come on, broccoli's good for you," Hermione coaxed Stephanie who still kept glaring at the offending vegetable. Hermione sighed. "You're never like this when its lettuce or anything green…"

"What did the mean broccoli did to you?" Len asked, eyeing the broccoli with distaste. "I was like that when I was three too. Couldn't eat broccoli to save my life, so I just threw it behind my back—"

"—until he hit Mum with said green," Katherine snorted, putting some cheese on top of the broccoli. Stephanie's eyes suddenly lit up and before Hermione knew it, she ate the broccoli in one bite. "If she was like us when we were three, then it's theoretical: we didn't even eat broccoli until we were introduced to melted cheese broccoli."

"H-How come I-I never thought of that before?" Hermione practically whispered to herself, her eyes wide. "That… actually m-makes sense to me; I-I never eat broccoli unless it's covered with cheese."

"Then it's genetic: Grangers only eat broccoli if it's smothered with cheese sauce," Komui snickered through a mouthful of pasta. Edward gave him a disgusted look.

"Mouth closed, you butt," Edward said, flicking him a piece of bacon to his face. Stephanie giggled. "And you, young lady," He pointed his fork to Stephanie sternly. "Don't forget that incident we had back home."

"What happened?" I asked him, and Stephanie only giggled.

"That little beast loves water _way_ too much," Edward grumbled, slightly wincing at the thought. It must have been a bad experience. "And don't get me started when I tried to shampoo her hair. I nearly cracked my head!"

"You should have heard it," Komui snickered, giving Edward a sly smile. "Edward screams like a girl."

Deana practically snorted in her food at Edward's face.

* * *

"I don't think I can eat another bite," Allen moaned as he leaned back into his seat. The restaurant was way closed right now, since they're only open until nine, and it's already past ten.

And for once, practically everyone dropped their utensils at Allen's announcement.

"Holy shit," Lavi whispered out in shock, blinking rapidly at Allen. "T-They broke him."

"I'm sorry, but who did we break?" Lea asked from between Myde and Zione, who were insisted to join them, along with the whole crew to eat. Edward's paying though—with one of those sleek, cards I saw Dad playing with—so, it's fine to waste another.

"Allen's notorious for his high, clean plates," Lenalee informed them, her eyes still firmly on Allen. "He never gets so full!"

"His stomach is a bottomless pit!" Fred and George exclaimed loudly, pointing accusingly at Allen. Alma was speechless, and I think Kanda won't be ever to mock him about that bottomless pit of a stomach he has any longer.

Link, for the sake of it, was writing this down on his notebook. "You okay, Link?" Tevak asked timidly as she continued to eat her ice cream. "You look—"

"I just saw Walker not eat another piece," Link mumbled quietly, absent-mindedly moving his pen on his notebook as he continued to stare at Allen. "I believe this will cause me a tantamount of papers…" He added to Tevak, who just sighed in defeat.

"But seriously, that has got to be one of tallest stack of plates I've ever seen," Myde mused, pointing at the tower. "Kairi, don't you think Sora has a competitor?"

"Ask him that when he comes back," Kairi—the red haired girl from before—smiled.

Stephanie, the adorable tyke that she was, was already nodding off to sleep. The kids were practically out of fuel, like Allen. How lucky are they that they aren't teenagers—or adults—like us yet? _'Ah, schoolwork,'_ the voice in my mind sighed wistfully. _'Always such a bore, but fun once you don't do it.'_

"We should head back," Edward said, finally standing up and gathering Stephanie in his arms. The second her head was snuggled into Edward's shoulder, she started to snore lightly. "And she's gone off to dreamland," He said jokingly to Hermione, who had to cover her smile with her hand.

"Thank you so much for the food. I'll be looking forward to coming back here again," Deana said as we stood, shaking her hands with Miss Isa, who was smiling back.

"Please let me know if you have found a job already," Miss Isa nodded, and I couldn't help but marvel at their exchange. That was way too quick, but maybe that's Deana or Miss Isa for you. "I have connections with the modelling agency that we work with. I'll arrange an appointment, if you'd like, Deana."

"That would be great!" Deana gushed out, mindful of the sleeping kid next to her. "Thank you so much!"

"And, Mr. Edward—"

"Ed's just fine, Miss Isa," Ed intervened, giving her a small smile. "And we'll be calling that company and the lab you've suggested to us tomorrow morning."

Miss Isa and the whole crew led us out to the bus, and once we reached the bus, they—Myde and Lea—openly stared at the bus in envy.

"Why don't we have a bus?" Myde whined out before Zione scowled at them, Roxas by her side.

"Well, why not?" Zione asked at them, making them both stare at her in pure misery. "Both've you have the money."

"I need my parents' consent," Myde grumbled, kicking a pebble on the ground.

"I need my boyfriend's consent," Lea said, deadpanned. Roxas, for the sake of being said boyfriend, smacked him behind the head.

"I-I'll see you all early t-tomorrow," Hermione promised quietly to them giving them a small smile before we filed in the bus. Harry sat next to me while Hermione took the other side, tucking her bags by her feet and pretty much covering herself with her jacket.

"You forgot to remind them that we have to meet up with the class tomorrow," Harry reminded her quietly and I couldn't help but grin when she gave a small groan of realization.

* * *

**A/N: Hi guys! I hate apologizing to all of you every now and then because of late posts, and since I hate myself for not updating so quickly, I'm just going to say that I'll post a chapter every once in a while. I was actually working on two stories, so those were some of the reasons I couldn't post so early.**

**Please comment and review, your reviews are very much appreciated!**

**Characters belong to Square Enix and Katsura Hoshino. OOCs are forever your truly. **


	6. Chapter 5: Haircuts and Chocolate

_Ron's POV_

* * *

We were woken up by a scream.

A womanly, full _Edward_ scream.

After immediately throwing ourselves on our beds for a good night's sleep, I almost forgot about Hermione going in early to Rhythmic Moon because… well, I had a good dream. It involved a house, and a good amount of spending time with—

You know what? Never mind.

"What the hell was that?!" I heard Lavi shout from outside and I immediately pulled on a jacket, opening the door to see Harry fumbling with his glasses as he came out of his.

"You heard it too?" He yawned sleepily.

"It probably reached the school," I groaned, shuffling to the stairs. As we both made our way down, I saw Deana working on some omelettes and everyone else either on the chairs, or are on the floor in the living room. "What did Edward do now?"

"Komui's on it," Deana replied, patting Emilie on the head as she passed her and Timothy their omelettes. Deana poured them each a glass of milk, on which Timothy slightly glared at. "It's a shame that you still have classes while they don't. And Timothy, no glaring on the table."

"I can't help it! This," He pointed sullenly at the glass. "This sorry excuse for a growth elixir is insulting me."

Emilie scoffed at him. "You're taller than any of us. You don't get a say on anything that concerns height, you idiot."

At that time, Komui came in through the glass, sliding doors that lead to the backyard, an amused grin on his face. "I invited them to eat breakfast," He told Deana, and gave her a high-five, which she returned. "Oh man, you heard his scream right?"

"I believe it could be heard all the way to Galia," Deana mused, handing him a mug of coffee.

"Can I get a glass of milk, Deana?" I asked sleepily, sliding into the chair next to Emilie. "Good morning by the way," I greeted to the two, Harry shuffling to the living room to join the others.

"Good morning, Ron," Timothy grinned, before resuming his glaring at the glass. Suddenly, the doorbell sounded off and the slam of the door opening practically vibrated throughout the house. Deana's face showed disapproval and she walked over and out of the kitchen.

"Edward, you didn't need to—oh my god."

My eyebrows shot up as I saw Deana stop by the doorway, her hands covering her mouth. I stood up and walked outside the kitchen, and—

Stared.

_Bloody hell._

"Why do you all seem upset? It's not like I haven't cut my hair before," Katherine grumbled, running her hand across her newly trimmed hair. Right now, what was before long, sunny blonde locks was now… short. Maybe an inch above the shoulder, I don't know! She seems like the perfect replica of Len, if it wasn't for the headband adorning her head. "I told you guys that I am going to cut my hair."

Timothy pushed his way in front of us and dropped his bag in shock. Emilie, however, was delighted and immediately pulled Katherine to the kitchen.

Edward stood there in complete and utter defeat, while Hermione trailed behind him, already bundled up in a jacket and a scarf around her neck. Stephanie, apparently, had followed Katherine and Emilie in giggles.

I quickly went to Hermione and gave her a grin. "You wouldn't happen to have chopped your sister's hair, right?"

Hermione chuckled. "I-It's not every day you s-see your sister in the m-morning with her hair chopped off," she replied quietly, smiling.

"No, definitely not," I laughed before leading her to the living room full of asleep, and half-asleep exorcists. "You might have to excuse the tangle of limbs on the floor and just ignore them all together if I were you," I whispered to her and she lightly giggled, covering her mouth with her hand.

Suddenly, something started to ring—well, actually it started to _sing_. Hermione's face flushed as everybody jerked awake, while Hermione fumbled for her phone, patting her pockets quickly before pulling it out and almost dropping it in the process.

"H-Hello?" Hermione squeaked into her phone and she whispered to the waking tangle of limbs, _'S-Sorry!'_ before returning her attention to her phone. "S-Stefan! Um, w-where am I? I-I'm with the others—"Hermione flinched, pulling her phone away from her ear before pressing a button.

"_What the hell, dudes?"_ Stefan's loud, and annoyed voice came from the phone. _"Hurry up! Arthur's being an ass—ow!"_

I slapped a hand to my forehead. "Damn, we forgot that we have to meet up with the class today!"

_"You're damn right, you are!"_ Stefan scoffed from the phone and I glared at it. _"We'll come and pick you up! We'll be there in ten minutes! Just get your clothes and shit because we're going to the lake!"_

* * *

"Bloody hell, it's been awhile since I've been at a lake," Fred practically moaned once we sighted the blue mass of water. An hour earlier, the house was in pure and utter chaos. Especially once Stefan came inside and almost destroyed the house.

Katherine and the kids immediately left once a shoe flew across their heads with Deana immediately herding them towards the bus with Komui, Edward and Stephanie, who after bringing the kids to school, are going out to buy the groceries, go to their interviews and maybe, ask around for house renovations.

"I still can't believe that you all live in the same house," Clark said conversationally to Lenalee as we walked towards the lake. "Must be like—"

"Oh no, this is much more bearable. Back at home, it's utterly disastrous," Lenalee scoffed, waving a hand to make a point.

I heard something shuffling from behind me and I looked behind me to see some of the boys already stripping to their boxers.

_Twee!_

The shrill of the whistle made them all cringe, and I covered my ears. I turned to see Sir Arthur, hands on his hips while a whistle swayed back and forth around his neck.

"No one is going into that lake unless you've done enough training!" He shouted at us, and I couldn't help but wince. He is scary once he's in the mood. "Alright, now let's go with the roll call! Those who aren't participating are in charge for the props that we have to use, understood? Right, then!"

As he continued to call our names, I took the moment to look at Hermione, who was in a too-big shirt and worn out jeans.

"Not going to swim?" I asked her curiously, and she shook her head.

"I-I don't have a-anything to swim in," She answered, a light blush covering her cheeks. "R-Ron?"

"Yeah?"

"H-How did you know t-that I knew how t-to swim?"

I smiled mischievously at her, winking.

"Talia told me."

* * *

"How many sit-ups can you guys even bloody do?" Stefan asked frustratingly as he laid on the grass and looking over us who kept going. "And you guys didn't even have breakfast!"

"That's the worst thing to do when you have to exercise, bro," Fred sighed, patting him on the back. "You know that you have to eat breakfast after you train. That's like… law."

"Water's the only thing you should think about while we do," George added helpfully as he continued on his sit-ups. "Trust me. When training, water is your best friend."

"Now I know that he _really_ doesn't listen when we have PE," Lance grinned, slapping Stefan on the back, making him yelp. "Come on, Stefan. Those push-ups aren't going to help you at all if you keep slacking off."

* * *

We sat underneath this huge, oak tree once the sun started to really burn us to death. I munched on my sandwich—whoever made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches is a bloody god—and admired the view of the blue lake and the sky that was remarkably painted with clouds.

"When will we go into the lake?" Stefan whined, leaning across Clark and flicking Sir Arthur on the head. I couldn't help but snort at the indignant look Sir Arthur gave to Stefan. "Come on, Artie! Give us a break."

"I already did. And didn't I already tell you not to call me _'Artie'_?"

"Oh, so Alfred's the only one who could call you that?" A sly smile. "I knew you two were fucking."

Hermione spurt out the water she was drinking, her face so red that she almost resembled a tomato. I glared holes at Stefan, who was currently getting pummeled to the ground by the whole class.

"Dude, what the hell?" Lance scowled at him.

"Really Stefan?" Bridgette crowed venomously at Stefan. "Honestly!"

"Stefan, Hermione's innocent!" Vincent shouted, pointing at Hermione before he pointed towards Anthony, who was clearly surprised to be pointed at. "And you just made Anthony unclean! How dare you!"

"_Oi! Leave me out of this, you asshole!"_

Hermione continued to blush. "U-Um, guys?"

"Not now, Hermione. We're still grilling on him," Alma said imperiously, waving a hand to emphasis the point.

I sidled next to her. "What do you want to say?" I asked curiously at her.

"Well, um…" Hermione drifted off, looking really uncomfortable. "I—um—just wanted to say that I'm used to know how sex goes."

"Oh," Uncomfortable silence insert here. "With sex or the actual blurting it out like this asshole did?"

"T-The latter."

"Ah."

* * *

"Alright, I think it's about time you guys get inside the lake—"We immediately ran pass him, stripping off our clothes and leaving only our underwear or shirts and shorts. We probably looked like a herd of rampaging teens. _"—and no skinny dipping, you assholes!"_ The last one was targeted to the twins, Stefan, and the other idiots.

The lake was refreshing by the way.

"Man!" Allen screamed from his place as he held a ball in his hands, his silver hair dripping wet and clinging around his face. His left arm was amazingly wrapped around with bandages to keep it hidden. "This feels good! Anyone up for a game of volleyball?"

"Count us in," Stefan grinned, slinging his arm around Allen's shoulders as the twins waddled up towards them. "Oi, Lucy! I want to have a rematch!"

Lucy, from her place with the girls, smirked. "You mean that time I beat your sorry ass?"

Hermione giggled behind me. I gave her a smile as I noticed that she was knee-deep into the water.

"It must have been a sight to see, huh?" Harry chuckled, splashing me with water. I grinned and splashed him back. "Do you want to join them, Hermione?"

Hermione shook her head, smiling slightly. "I j-just… want t-to swim first."

Well. "I thought you wouldn't?"

"It just… s-seems rather unfair if you t-train the whole morning while I just s-sat there, helping with the p-props," She finished lamely, twiddling her thumbs together. I grinned at her.

"Then how about we start on those laps, huh?" I grinned, making her snap her head towards me. "Talia told me she was better than you underwater, but I'd like to test that out."

Hermione, albeit hesitantly, smiled.

_Score._

* * *

"You have got to be joking me."

"What do you mean?" I asked Clark curiously as I stood, waist-deep in the lake.

"She's been under there for like, five minutes! Aren't you at least worried?" He demanded, looking at the middle of the lake, where Hermione disappeared. At that same point in time, Hermione came out of the water, out of breath and weakly giving me a smile. I shook my head at Clark's dumbfounded expression.

"Nah, I think she'll be fine," I replied cheekily, giving Hermione a thumb's up. I heard someone arguing from behind us and saw Sir Arthur talking to…

_Oh-hoh._

"Oi! Don't do anything I would do in front of us!" Stefan called out to the bantering duo, and I couldn't help but crack up at the faces of Sir Arthur and Sir Alfred. "I'm a _highly_ impressionable child!"

"You stay out of this, Stefan!" Sir Arthur hollered back, his face flushed while Sir Alfred was grinning mischievously and giving a thumb's up to Stefan. Sir Arthur slapped him on the head. "And don't encourage him, you twat!"

_"Make me, Artie!"_ I heard Sir Alfred laugh out until Sir Arthur practically jumped on him. They both were struggling until Sir Alfred was soon on top and giving the other a cheeky grin.

"Huh," Clark hummed as he produced a camera from his shorts. "This is good blackmail material if he ever gives us a hard project. Lucy! Stefan! Stop laughing you dolts! We have material to sell on the black market!"

All at once, three of them waded their way to shore and started to snap pictures all the while dodging anything that Sir Arthur throws them. It wasn't long before Alma, Lavi and the twins followed after.

"It's nice to know that you blackmail your teachers," I snorted to Hermione, who looked at the group wearily. "What? Not fond of blackmailing?"

"No. But do they really have to?" She sighed, shaking her head, but suddenly she smiled. "It's been years, and everyone knows that Sir Alfred is in love with Sir Arthur. Why wouldn't he just… do away with his pride and say that he is too?"

I smiled widely at her words. She sounded really sure, and I couldn't help but notice that she didn't stutter. "You didn't stutter," I said to her and her face flushed slightly. "Don't be embarrassed, that just means that you're already growing fond of us. That's saying something, right?"

She nodded slowly, her face still flushed. Suddenly, a volleyball flew over our heads and I saw, to my amusement, Sir Arthur wading towards the running students, his eyes suddenly dark and glittering with revenge. "I may not be able to give you brats' homework for today," He growled out, a dangerous smile placed on his face and I gulped. "But that doesn't mean I'm not going to rain on you parade of happiness!"

He stopped to look at Harry, Hermione and I and pointed backwards. "You three, back to the tree and rest up. And whoever didn't take a picture, join them as well! I want you to watch as I rip your friends apart!"

"Isn't that a bit far-fetched?" Harry asked quietly to us as we quickly waded our way to shore, where Sir Alfred laid, a huge bump on his head and a huge smile on his face. "Are you alright, sir?"

"I'm definitely fine," He murmured dopily. "Ah! I'm in love with the most dangerous Brit I ever know! How _amazing _is that?!"

I watched with the others, amused, as Sir Arthur threw him a huge rock and it landed spectacularly on his jewels. He howled in pain, but that still didn't wipe that love-struck grin on his face.

* * *

"Fuck yeah! It's over!" Stefan crowed in relief with the others as the sun started to set. Everyone started to pack up their things and I couldn't help but stare at the tall stack of props we have for the fest. "Damn, I think we're going to kick ass in every fucking category there is!"

"Shh! Do not jinx it, you moron!" Lucy hissed at him. Stefan stuck a tongue at her and her eye twitched. I heard Hermione gulp behind me and I couldn't help but feel sorry for Stefan as he was almost stalked like the prey he is by Lucy.

"W-We should be getting home!" Francine interrupted quickly, grabbing hold of Lucy's shoulders and hauling her away from Stefan. "We have tons of homework to do!"

"Honestly, that woman," Stefan shook his head and glared back at Lucy as they, along with some of the class, went towards their cars. "So, how about it?" Stefan asked, pointing towards his car. "Do any of you need a ride?"

Lenalee shook her head. "Nah, we'll just walk from here," She said with a smile. "Besides, you can't deny that sunset. It's beautiful to look at."

Stefan grinned. "Then I'll see you guys tomorrow."

* * *

"We're home!" Alma announced happily as we took off our shoes. Hermione was immediately ambushed by Stephanie, Katherine and Len not too far behind. Timothy and Emilie walked out from the living room, looking as if they have spent an all-nighter. "What happened to you two?" She asked to Emilie, who immediately suppressed a groan. Timothy was the one who answered.

"If you had a terror teacher who gave us a fifteen inch essay, and _hand-written_ to boot, you would be too," Timothy growled out and I visibly saw Len, Katherine and Emilie wince. Stephanie, however, giggled and trotted back to the kitchen, where she landed in the waiting arms of Komui.

"Well… what's the essay all about?" I asked him, and Len almost gave me a desperate look.

"The Reproductive System," Emilie answered ruefully.

Ah. _That._

Edward suddenly went out from the kitchen, wiping his hands in a rag and his face flushed. "Alright! Enough of that horrid essay! It's time to eat—oi! No running in the house!"

Harry, Hermione and I hung back with Lenalee, Tevak and Link, who had the decency to stop and staring wearily at the group currently devouring the dinner that can actually feed a whole army.

"Sometimes, a cafeteria is _everything_ that we need," Edward sighed, shaking his head. "Remind me to put in a larger kitchen and a large dining room to our renovation list, Link."

"Duly noted, sir," Link said, while writing on his notebook. Tevak rolled her eyes, but a smile was on her face as she dragged Lenalee and Hermione into the dining room, Link following in tow.

"You know, with spending every single minute together, I would think that they would be actually be a couple by now," Harry mused, his hands on his back in a care-free manner. A sly grin was on his face. I shook my head in laughter. "What do you say?"

"I'd say that Link wants to make up for what happened when they were captured by the Earl," I said to him, elbowing him on the ribs. "Which leads me to this unrelated topic of this conversation: did you write to Ginny about our leave?"

That sly grin of his was wiped off his face.

* * *

"You are _so_ dead when we come home to the Burrow," I whispered ecstatically at him as we all settled on the floor, our homework laying on each of our laps. Hermione was back in their house, but she's going to stay here to help us finish our homework and probably, help us get a track on what we're studying. "She's going to snog the hell out of you before starting on her yearly rant. Don't say that I didn't warn you."

"Shut up," Harry said helpfully, punching me on the shoulder and proceeding to start on his essay.

"I-I'm sorry I'm late!" Hermione came in from the glass door, and I couldn't help but grin at her attire. Who knew that polka-dotted pajamas could be so cute? "Did you s-start already?"

"Nah, but I got to say, you look pretty cute with polka dots," Alma smiled and Hermione's cheeks suddenly turned pink. "What do you think should we start with? History is a bore though, so I wouldn't bother with it, but I guess Literature class is good, right? Let's start with that classic and summarize it quickly, then we can write the essay afterwards. Then, we'll start on our Math homework, and then we could go right ahead to either history or physics."

I stared at Alma with disbelief and awe.

"You—"Kanda started, but his words were lost as he stared at his girlfriend in incredulity.

"That," Hermione started quietly, but there was a smile painted on her face. "That was actually what I would do…"

"Hey! I'm gorgeous and smart at the same time," Alma grinned, patting the empty space next to her and smiling devilishly at Kanda. "That's what you get for not reading books while we were still kids, Yuu. Read up!"

* * *

It wasn't long before we all noticed that we might actually put in an all-nighter for all of these.

"Mm, I'm hungry," Lavi grumbled as he stared at the clock. "Heh, well, would you look at that? It's already midnight…"

Hermione's head perked up from writing her own essay and was surprised when she did look at the clock. "S-Shall I make hot chocolate?"

Everyone's heads turned at her with pleading eyes.

"White, or just the plain chocolate?" She asked, shakily standing up and wincing. As everyone murmured chocolate, with Tevak only the one muttering _'milk'_, she headed towards the kitchen. While everyone was busy, I slipped away and joined her in the kitchen where fourteen mugs were laid on the table.

"White chocolate?" I asked her by the door frame and she jumped, almost dropping the pot full of hot water. I hurried towards her and gave her a weak smile. "Sorry," I apologized to her. "Bad timing?"

"Talia would have bonked you on the head if she ever saw," She responded weakly, but gladly letting me help.

"But seriously, _white hot chocolate_?"

"It's actually really good," She smiled as she started to scoop up chocolate powder into each of the mugs. "I-It's my favourite kind of chocolate."

"You don't drink coffee, then?"

She shook her head quickly, as if the thought of it was rather horrid to her. "I-I hate coffee," She mumbled, and I couldn't help but chuckle at the pout she had on her face. "I-It's bitter, and I prefer milk, tea and hot chocolate!"

"Alright, alright! Don't get angry at the poor coffee jar," I chuckled as she glared at the offending jar. "I'll help you out. Anything that I can do?"

She smiled thoughtfully before pointing to the fridge. "Boil some milk?"

I saluted her with a grin. "Aye, aye Captain!"

* * *

**A/N: And lo, and behold. I am alive. Honestly, the pressure of graduating kills every mood when I want to write.**

**These characters belong to J.K. Rowling, Katsura Hoshino and Square Enix. **


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